Let the children play
Jan 28, 2007
HAVING fun is an essential part of a child’s mental and social development. Five-year-old Linda has not enjoyed any fun since the beginning of this holiday. Before schools closed late last year, Linda’s kindergarten teacher compiled a large amount of holiday assignment for children to carry home
Parenting - Wagwau Jamesa
HAVING fun is an essential part of a child’s mental and social development. Five-year-old Linda has not enjoyed any fun since the beginning of this holiday. Before schools closed late last year, Linda’s kindergarten teacher compiled a large amount of holiday assignment for children to carry home.
Parents requested the school to provide work that would ‘keep children busy’. Since the holiday assignment cannot keep Linda busy enough, Linda’s mother has hired a teacher who coaches her from morning till noon. Even after the teacher has left, Linda remains confined with assignments.
Many parents have deprived their children of their precious holiday in the name of coaching and assignments. Some parents argue that without holiday assignment, children become too idle and a nuisance at home.
The ‘holiday homework syndrome’ that used to plague only primary and secondary school children has stretched to kindergarten. It is no longer strange to see a child in middle class toiling in books like a PhD student finishing a dissertation!
Linda Acredolo in her book, Baby Minds: Brain Building Games Your Baby Will Love, says children understand their world more through play than reading books. While it might appear that play is idleness, there is a lot of learning involved. Child play entails problem solving, critical thinking and overcoming challenges.
Learning in early childhood is not an abstract activity; it is practical.
Children learn best through contact with real objects, events and people. Without a balance between work and play, you risk bringing up a workaholic who believes in working till he or she drops dead!
Play benefits your child in the following ways:
During play, children assume different roles that build their creativity, problem solving skills and abstract thinking.
Through interactive play, children acquire social skills. They learn cooperation, sharing, turn-taking, respect for other people’s feelings and conflict resolution that will help them in their career life.
Play helps children express themselves emotionally. There is fun, enjoyment and relaxation that reduce tension and eliminate stress. The child also learns communication skills as he or she listens to other children.
Sports activities like running, jumping, throwing, and pedalling improve body coordination. It is from such activities that your child learns how to dress, feed him or herself, or hold a pen.
Since play comes naturally to children, they can transform everyday objects into play material. Play provides an opportunity for you to closely interact and bond with your child. This is because play naturally brings to the surface the best part of us, making it easy to connect with other people socially and emotionally.
Play and work have to be balanced.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032
HAVING fun is an essential part of a child’s mental and social development. Five-year-old Linda has not enjoyed any fun since the beginning of this holiday. Before schools closed late last year, Linda’s kindergarten teacher compiled a large amount of holiday assignment for children to carry home.
Parents requested the school to provide work that would ‘keep children busy’. Since the holiday assignment cannot keep Linda busy enough, Linda’s mother has hired a teacher who coaches her from morning till noon. Even after the teacher has left, Linda remains confined with assignments.
Many parents have deprived their children of their precious holiday in the name of coaching and assignments. Some parents argue that without holiday assignment, children become too idle and a nuisance at home.
The ‘holiday homework syndrome’ that used to plague only primary and secondary school children has stretched to kindergarten. It is no longer strange to see a child in middle class toiling in books like a PhD student finishing a dissertation!
Linda Acredolo in her book, Baby Minds: Brain Building Games Your Baby Will Love, says children understand their world more through play than reading books. While it might appear that play is idleness, there is a lot of learning involved. Child play entails problem solving, critical thinking and overcoming challenges.
Learning in early childhood is not an abstract activity; it is practical.
Children learn best through contact with real objects, events and people. Without a balance between work and play, you risk bringing up a workaholic who believes in working till he or she drops dead!
Play benefits your child in the following ways:
During play, children assume different roles that build their creativity, problem solving skills and abstract thinking.
Through interactive play, children acquire social skills. They learn cooperation, sharing, turn-taking, respect for other people’s feelings and conflict resolution that will help them in their career life.
Play helps children express themselves emotionally. There is fun, enjoyment and relaxation that reduce tension and eliminate stress. The child also learns communication skills as he or she listens to other children.
Sports activities like running, jumping, throwing, and pedalling improve body coordination. It is from such activities that your child learns how to dress, feed him or herself, or hold a pen.
Since play comes naturally to children, they can transform everyday objects into play material. Play provides an opportunity for you to closely interact and bond with your child. This is because play naturally brings to the surface the best part of us, making it easy to connect with other people socially and emotionally.
Play and work have to be balanced.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032