Developmental psychology/Chapter 6/Play

• Play is the most productive thing a child can do, as some developmentalists say, as they develop their linguistic, social, emotional and creativity skills. Other developmentalists say that play can be detrimental to regular, academic studying. Vygotsky was a big advocator for children to play.
• Children play best when they have playmates with them, which increases competition and muscular strength/control and indicates social maturation.

Mildred Parten lists five crucial parts of the play, gradually advancing from ages 1-6:

1. Solitary: Plays by himself
2. Onlooker: Sees other babies playing
3. Parallel: Childrren play in similar ways
4. Associative: Children play, but no turns
5. Cooperative: Children play, but they take turns

Play is divided into social play and pretend play.

Social Play

• Without social play (playing with other kids), children are not willing to learn as much as a child who does social play.
• Rough-and-Tumble play - Play fight/wrestling with no intent of harm from both children. This causes the limbic system to connect more strongly with the prefrontal cortex.
• Sociodramatic play - Children play different roles, exhibiting self-concept and emotional regulation. When children mix in their creativity with other friends, they develop a theory of mind.
• Children prefer to play with their own sex.
• In North America, children watch TV for at least two hours a day. Screentime reduces conversations, outdoor activity and imagination
• Scientists recommend children don't watch TV for more than an hour and whatever they're watching is supervised and screened from racist/sexual contents or stereotypes.