Picture young children outside playing in the park. Some may be on the swings, others are running around amongst the trees yelling, “You’re it.” in a game of tag. What fun they’re having during a period of play time. Many people watching see these activities as an expression of freedom. A time set aside for children to just be and go with the flow. True, except their play is actually so much more!

The brain is working hard to process all the stimuli and data in their surroundings and interactions. Playing impacts all four domains: physical, social/emotional, language and cognitive development. AND it starts at birth!

What really is play? That seems like an easy question to answer—-many scientists, psychologists and theorists have developed multiple theories and gathered extensive data about play. A key focus has been -– the relationship play has to learning in. a child’s early years. Their contributions are expanding and benefiting our society daily. In the Journal of Education and Practice it was stated that, “Play is the best context for children’s learning and development in that it is open ended and free, children have control over it, it can be done alone or with others, it can even occur without any materials or equipment, and it can take place in many settings.“ Other researchers and educators have expanded on the topic of “ play”. There are mainly two major categories of play, that of free play and guided play. Both are considered to be playful learning. First before discussing the types, stages and other aspects of play, it’s important to recognize some key theorist who have impacted child development over the years.

Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) was a Swiss psychologist, a pioneer in the study of a child’s cognitive development. He used both observation and interviews in his research and concluded that there were four stages a child moves through. His theory opened the door to a whole new way of understanding a child’s thought processes and mental states. People in the early 1930’s tended to think that children were just smaller versions of adults. Therefore, their expectations were that a child manages information the same way as an adult. They hadn’t realized that a young brain starts to understand their interactions, experiences and surroundings differently than an adult. He discovered that ALL children develop their thinking abilities over-time, and it is reflected in their behaviors. He determined that a child’s brain activity is not a replication of an adults thinking but goes through the four stages shown below.

Piaget’s earliest Sensorimotor stage puts emphasis on sensory experiences and motor actions. It’s the start of explorative learning and environmental connections. He discovered children learn by doing or active learning NOT just by being a watcher. It’s a trial and error, method of learning which is prominent in their independent play. Sensory play involves objects and materials that let the baby use their senses. For example: grasping, watching, listening, smelling, tasting-sucking are a few ways a baby will learn about their surrounding world.

One important concept that Piaget discovered was the idea of object permanence-knowing that even if something is hidden out of sight or cannot be heard – it still exists. Object permanence is connected to the development of memory in the baby brain. How to help? Enter the game peek-a-boo into a baby’s life. They delight and are amazed how something disappears and reappears like magic. Through lots of play with hiding small objects and other activities at around 8 months the baby will learn the concept of object permanence. This is a relief because leaving one’s child can be a stressful event for everyone. The anxiety lessens with their understanding of object permanence—the knowing of “we’ll be back”.

Piaget introduced the term schema, meaning the process of learning new knowledge and how one organizes and interprets it, a mental concept. For example: a child may understand that a two-legged animal is called a duck–which fits into their current schema of bird. If shown a chicken they may call it a duck because it has similar characteristics, feathers and a beak, it’s their present understanding of bird. Through more experiences the baby will expand and develop a new schema about birds. Learning they’re not all the same.

Piaget’s theories were a turning point for describing how children learn. Through the years other scientists have expanded on his theories or even challenged his ideas. Piaget was set in his beliefs that children move through his identified stages, completing one before going into another. Further study suggests that a child may be in two stages at the same time. One has to consider that each child is an individual, living in a different learning environment. However, his theories mentioned above are still important when understanding the learning process in a child’s cognitive development.

There are many other important learning theories to take into account. The next few posts will provide additional information and activities to boost a baby’s brain through play.