The Power of Play!

By Sara Harker, BEd

When building a house some may argue that laying the foundation is the most important step because it’s the foundation that supports the weight of the entire house. If the foundation of the house is weak then it will not be able to stand up to the potential stresses such as rain, hail and in some cases earthquakes.

 The same is true when building a strong brain. In order to withstand all the stresses in our lives we need to construct a foundation for which our brain can effectively function. At the core of this foundation is our executive function skills. These are the skills that allow us to plan ahead, be flexible, control impulses, have emotional control, actively retain information, prioritize tasks and enable us to stay focused on a task despite distractions. We are not born with these incredible skills which is why it’s vital that we learn and practise each of them over time. The most effective way to develop and nurture these skills is through play. Keep reading for some ideas on how to improve your young child’s executive function skills through play. Keep in mind that these are only a few ideas because the possibilities of play are endless.

Infant to two years old

Ways to play at this age

·       Serve and return: Responsive interactions between children and caregivers are incredibly powerful and can be very simple. An example of serve and return could include a parent and baby cooing back and forth to each other. The adult always being responsive to their child’s communication.

·       Fingerplays: Use your fingers and hands as props while you sing and act out nursery rhymes such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. After Demonstrating the songs invite your child to join in.

·       Partner songs such as “Pat-a-Cake”: You can sing along to the song and do the actions with your child.

·       Peekaboo: Use your hands to hide you face from your child. Say “peekaboo” and remove your hands, revealing your face to your child. You can alter the time between hiding and reappearing.

Skills they can learn through play

·       Object permanence:  Children can learn that objects are still there even if they can’t see them.

·       Focus and attention: While being involved in play children can gradually increase the time they are able to pay attention.

·       Self-awareness: Children can come to understand that their body parts are their own.

·       Vocabulary: Through interaction with a loving adult children can learn new words while engaged in play

·       Social skills: Engaging with caregivers while playing can strengthen children’s ability to form strong relationships

·       Motor skills: Learning to use their bodies to move and hold new objects.

Preschool

Ways to play at this age

·       Pretend play: Encourage children to take on a role in dramatic play such as a doctor or cashier. The play should be unstructured and should encourage creativity as the roles are acted out.

·       Stop and go games: Play games that involve children moving and then freezing with little to no notice. One game that you could play is musical freeze. For this game children dance while the music is playing and then freeze the moment the music stops.

·       Lips and Ears: When telling a story or reading a book give all the listening participants a picture of an ear and the narrator a picture of the mouth. Allow other participants to have a turn talking by giving them the mouth picture.

·       Right is Right: Build a model out of blocks or another building material. Have your child attempt to recreate your model. This can become a game where you then recreate a model that your child made.

Skills they can learn through play

·       Working memory: Remembering instructions of games helps to grow working memory.

·       Follow Instructions: Ability to follow instructions will increase as children follow the rules of each game.

·       Impulse control: Learn to stop and think before moving.

·       Emotional regulation: Learning how to not win a game can increase children’s capacity to control their own emotions.

·       Flexible thinking: Increase children’s ability to think about things in a new or different way.

·       Control of bodily movements: Learn body awareness and how to move your body in different ways.

·       Problem solving: Children will learn how to try different solutions when solving a problem.

 Play is a powerful tool in brain development and can begin the moment a child is born. However, play is not only essential for young children. It is important for people of all ages. From playing peek-a-boo with an infant to playing a card game with a teenager, play is a tool that should be implemented into everyone’s daily lives. Watch for next week’s blog to learn how play can be used to improve executive function skills of elementary age children as well as adolescents.