Active Play and the Development of the Child
According to Gregory Payne and Larry Isaacs, the early childhood is one of the major stages of human development, when the kid learns to evolve complex motor, communicative, social and cognitive skills through playing (2016, p. 40). Children who are involved in active rough and tumble plays like chasing or jumping engage emotionally with each other, which improves their socialization level as compared to the kids who are not (Jarvis, 2010, p. 62). At the same time, children which are unable to participate in games and related communication due to motor coordination issues experience a lack of self-esteem (Payne & Isaacs, 2016, p. 57), as well as insufficient motor skills (Payne & Isaacs, 2016, p. 169). Therefore, the importance of the play for the motor and social development child of an early age should be investigated.
The Importance of the Play
The free play as an unstructured and uncontrolled action of the child should be a key possibility to gain an ability to make an autonomous decision. That assumption is proved by the study of Linda Bunker, who examined the play for motor and social development (1991). Among other factors, she highlights that any play is an intentional action, which gives an experience of goal setting and reaching, teaching the basic notions of labor and its price too (Bunker, 1991, p. 467). She also illustrates that the playing is intrinsically enjoyable (1991, p. 470), hence optimal for the development as it motivates the child before he or she learns how to involve into activity planned by other people (p. 471). However, kids who are restrained in their moving ability are likely to be deprived of the motivational game advantages, as the research conducted by Smith and Anderson showed that children with developmental coordination disorder are likely to be spectators in active plays, and are as proactive as kids without deviations only is social fantasy games (2000). However, one may doubt that without the active games the child lacks the willingness to perform the tasks which are not related to play by itself. In regard to this, the research conducted by Folkins and Wesley physical fitness training leads to improved mood, self-concept, and work behavior (1981). That also supports the hypothesis of the versatility of game influence.
Even though that basic concept can be rarely discovered in scholar press due to the scrutiny on cognitive and social aspects, the game is also beneficial for physical and motor evolved of the human during its early years. According to A. Pellegrini and Peter Smith, the first type of games which occurs during the first year of the human’s life are rhythmic stereotypies (1998, p. 577). Scientists undoubtably assume that the actions like body rocking and foot kicking are fit the definition of the play, and accelerates overall maturation of muscles and nervous system (Pellegrini & Smith, 1998, 578). Their hypothesis revoices the neomaturation theory, which suggests that development is primarily biologically …
