The Importance of Play | Creative Childcare

Here at Creative Childcare we understand the importance of fostering children’s creativity and
learning. One of the ways that we do this is through play.

Play is such an important part of children’s development. It lays the foundation for literacy, play also
encourages adults to communicate with children supporting them in their play opportunities, and
reports show that it promotes not only behavioural development but brain growth as well.

It is important to provide children with enough toys and experiences that allow the children the
opportunity to express themselves.

Our educators at Creative Childcare Australia provide lots of experiences that are set out and
developed from children’s interests allowing them to learn and explore through play, nurturing all
aspects of their development. Play is practice for many of life’s challenges they can learn to lead,
follow, cooperate, imitate, plan and negotiate.

According to play expert David Elkind play is on the decline, we risk losing these and many other
benefits. For too long play has been treated as a luxury that children as well as adults could do
without, but the time has come for us to recognize why play is important and worth defending he
believes that it is essential to a happy and healthy life.

Children will naturally play, it doesn’t need to be taught, play is essentially motivated by pleasure.
Limiting technology will encourage children to spend more time outdoors, this will provide them
with more opportunities to improve and maintain their physical and mental health.

It is believed that the sooner they enter an academic setting the sooner they will learn to read,
calculate and acquire academic skills, child development experts and child psychologists agree that
children develop readiness and most of those skills through play.

In a nutshell play is key, support your child’s growth and development by allowing play to be that
essential part of their everyday life, and reduce their technology time.

If you ask your child what they have done today while at day care and they respond with “just play”
remember the importance that play has on their overall development and think about the learning
opportunities that their educators will have provided them throughout this period.

References:
1. 10 Reasons Why Play is Important. https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/10-reasons-why-play-important/
2. Why Play? The Importance of Play. https://peacefulplaygrounds.com/importance-of-play/
3. Why Play is Important. http://www.playengland.org.uk/about-us/why-play-is-important/