Blog en 35
A nossa Natureza 36The importance of playfulness
World Children's Day is on 1 June and it's important to reflect on how our children occupy their free time when they're out of school. Parents often enrol their children in various extracurricular activities to provide them with new stimuli and new experiences. However, too many activities means a substantial reduction in the child's free time to play games, which are also extremely important for their emotional, social and cognitive development.
Through make-believe play, children experience adult experiences (the role of father, mother, policeman, doctor...) and learn to understand, behave and feel as such, preparing themselves for adult life.
It's also through play that children learn to express their feelings and emotions by simulating real everyday situations in social and family life, managing to externalise their fears, anxieties and internal conflicts, which is essential for their emotional balance.
It's important for adults to be attentive to the child's behaviour during play, as it often reflects problems/anxieties that the child is experiencing and feeling and can't verbalise.
No less important is the sensory, motor, cognitive and creative development that play provides the child.
