Question:
Demonstrate your ability to speculate as to the “inner world” of the child you observed.
I am very passionate about the topic of Child play. I’m currently studying about children’s development in Malaysia. In children, the play is a fundamental characteristic that helps one to identify their behavior. The play is also an educational tool for the children in different aspects. There have been debates on whether play has a biological element. There has been a rhythm identified among children of similar cultural backgrounds (Glover & Landreth 2015). These children have been found to have very similar ways of play spontaneously. A majority of writers have found play to be an essential tool for children, especially in socialization. However, the educational theorists say that play is just a waste of energy, and me disagree with them. Play is vital to a child’s emotional, cognitive, physical and imaginative strengths.
Play is important to children in a variety of ways; it helps the children express their personalities and ego, and it also enables them to do what is of utmost interest to them. It also has a cathartic function that is associated with it. Play helps the children get over issues that could be stressing them out. Additionally, it helps children in relating with other children and enables them to build relationships with them (Ginsburg 2007). Play also helps children to become more aware of their bodies as they play, and they know how and where they can move their bodies. Play also enables parents to learn their children’s body language. Finally, it creates a sense of self-worth for the children as they face various challenges and overcome them. It is therefore important to let children play to gain all these benefits.
The experiences that children have earlier on in life shape the workings of their brains. These experiences also impact the type of relationships these children form as well as their response to stressful situations. This is because, during the children’s formative years, that’s the period when the brain goes through the highest growth levels thus influencing their emotional and social growth (Imagawa 1984). It is the time when the children’s thinking starts to develop, their language improves, their movements start to be more defined, and they start to comprehend their feelings as well as those of others. It is therefore imperative to ensure that during the formative years, children are exposed to experiences that will positively impact. This is to ensure that they develop in the right manner and have a proper foundation for their lives.
All the aspects of the development of children are interconnected. The physical, emotional, cognitive and social developments of the children influence each other. Social development refers to the growth in the ability of children to relate and get along with their environment and be able to adapt. This is shown in the children’s emotional regulation and temperament. This is how well children control their emotions as they react to their environment. Children’s skills and competence in a social setting is also an indicator of their social development (Tandon et al. 2015). Their emotional bonds and attachment to their career also reflect on their social development. A majority of children want attention to be directed towards them. Otherwise, they result to crying and whimpering.
Play is a major contributor to social development as it helps children to interact with other children and prepares them for other more involved social interactions. Children who are not able to relate to other children, or who always have disputes with others show that they have not properly developed socially. They may depict signs of sibling rivalry, or they may be aggressive to other children. There should be help directed towards them to improve their social skills.
Emotional development is how well children can control the way they react to their environment given different situations. Children are not expected to be always happy to prove they are developing emotionally. This is because it is normal for them to cry to show that they need something and they also throw tantrums to communicate something more pressing (Piaget 1952). However, if they do so for too long without calming down after a while, it may be a sign of a bigger problem, and it is important for this issue to be corrected. Over time, when children can control their emotions, it shows that they are developing emotionally.
Cognitive development is depicted in the ability of the child to think creatively and critically. The child is also able to retain information and work to achieve given goals. Additionally, the child can synthesize and analyze information and can also be able to solve problems faced (Frost 1998). A child who shows an interest in learning depicts signs of cognitive development. Physical development is presented in the well-being of the child as seen physically. The child slowly increases in size and is also able to carry out various activities.
One theory that explains growth and development is the Instinct Practice Theory by Karl Gross. It regards play origins as being instinctive. Nevertheless, play is found to be a significant activity in preparing children for their activities as adults. It also speaks of the importance of children imitating adults in their play and how this helps them to survive (Ginsburg et al. 2007). This theory is therefore important because it supports play as being vital for the development of children and helps them be able to survive and relate to other people.
The Pathways model shows the different pathways that the growth and development of children. This model indicates that the behavior that children depict when they grow up is a cumulative sum of the different behavior that they show as they are growing up (Brussoni et al. 2012). For instance, a child who may show characteristics of not being school ready will then have a poor relationship with fellow children. Solitary play is the type of play where the children are very engrossed in play, and they are not interacting with other children. If the child integrates this kind of play with other types such as parallel play and associative play, it has a positive impact on that child (Frost 1998). However, if the child only uses this mode of play, it is likely to have negative consequences to the child. The child may be unable to socialize, then fail in schoolwork, and could turn into a criminal later in life. In this regard, it is important for research to show whether these activities are mutually exclusive or influenced by preceding events. It is therefore essential to ensure that children’s modes of play are evaluated. This is to ensure that negative factors do not accrue leading to a negative result.
The therapeutic play is very effective in children. It involves the use of a safe environment in which children can play with as many toys as possible with minimum limits. This may include the children individually or as a group. This play brings healing to the children with no need for medication. If necessary, the therapists can talk to the children to find out what they think about the session (Ginsburg 2007). Therapeutic play helps children to know how to deal with problems they may face which they do not have any control over. This play, therefore, helps children to view their future in a positive light.
This is a standard model for quality therapy play and supervision. The model has four elements namely; consciousness, directive, nonconsciousness, and nondirective. Consciousness refers to the verbal and play activities by the child while the directiveness relates to the level of the therapist’s involvement and interpretation (Glover & Landreth 2015). Hence, the child can play while the therapist observes to note what needs to be corrected in how the child is playing. This model is important because it ensures that negative child behavior is fixed as soon as it is observed and the child continually learns the right way to behave.
The therapist will organize the toys to be used in play based on the child’s age and the issue that requires being solved. The child will then move into the play area individually for maximum observation to enable corrections to be made where necessary (Imagawa 1984). The child will then use consciousness and non-consciousness to display his or her feelings in activities. The therapist, on the other hand, will use directives or be non-directive in dealing with the child.
In the play, children represent different themes that can be used in therapy sessions or to create a diagnosis. A child analyst can, therefore, use the observation technique to derive the themes in play sessions (Brussoni et al. 2012). In the case of play therapy, the therapist will organize a play based on the macro themes observed. Children could show signs of aggressive behavior, not socializing with others among others.
At different ages, children prefer using certain toys. Additionally, different types of play require different toys. From birth to about six months, children use their eyes and ears to play (Tamis-LeMonda et al. 2012). They have chime toys and cloth dolls to play with. Up to one year, they like using teething and bath toys. Between one and two years, they use playhouses. Then they like using tricycles and stuffed animals. Therefore, based on their ages, they like different toys. Solitary play will use toys such as crayons and a pad to bring out creativity while associative play will use toys that ensure interaction such as play houses and bouncing castles.
The play therapy settings that I experienced involved Jim, who is six years old. Jim had a range of toys ranging from crayons, pencils, and a writing pad for the child to be as creative as he can, and it also involved drawings for him to express his feelings and thoughts. The first form of play included story telling. First, I told Jim a story that contains different emotions and then asked him to identify the feelings in the story. He had some difficulty identifying some emotions, and I helped him to identify them by giving different suggestions. I then told him to tell a story and identify the emotions involved.
Next, I asked him to color the different emotions on a piece of paper and use different colors for different emotions. Finally, I asked him to color the different emotions he had felt in his life and identify when he felt them. This enabled me to know some feelings that were misunderstood and corrected them to give him a better understanding.
Another leading toy we used was a stuffed dragon. This was useful when Jim seemed frightened about something. To help him overcome it, I gave him the responsibility of comforting the dragon. This helped me achieve various goals such as; creating a positive relationship between us, helping him to participate freely in therapy, and it helped me empathize with his feelings.
Play therapy is more important to a child than regular play because the therapist can come in and help the child when that child seems confused or lost and needs help. As the child is playing, the therapist can assess the child’s behavior and help encourage good behavior and correct harmful habits.
In the therapeutic play, children hence communicate their feelings in the ways that they play and how they interact with their toys. In this case, Jim used colors to express his emotions and where I made use of a stuffed dragon, he made me aware of his feelings from the way he was comforting the dragon.
From the session I held with Jim, I was able to learn that he was not happy because he had recently lost his father and then they had moved to a strange place. The primary cause of this unhappiness was that he was no longer able to see his father and friends anymore. Additionally, he stopped doing various things such as going to the park with his family which he liked.
From this, I deduced that he felt neglected because he didn’t spend as much time with his parents as he used to. He also felt lonely because he had not made any friends yet. This, therefore, made me teach him how he can interact with other children to make new friends. I also talked to his mother and voiced my concerns from the sessions and said what I learned about Jim.
Whenever children are rewarded for doing good activities, this motivates them to keep doing good things to keep receiving the rewards. As a result, they grow into responsible children. Conversely, when they are in the wrong, they should be punished to know that what they are doing is wrong. For instance, they can have a particular place where they sit when they are in the wrong to reflect on their deeds and correct them.
The clients who come to an individual therapist could be of different cultural and social backgrounds. This could affect the therapy sessions in that; certain forms of behavior that may be considered acceptable in one culture may be found unacceptable in other cultures (Vygotsky 1967). People may have different religious beliefs which therefore cause them to believe in opposing things. This could lead to opposition of various tools that could be used in play. Additionally, there could be entirely different ways in which emotions are expressed in different cultures. These could, therefore, cause disagreements between the therapist and the client which could be disadvantageous for the child.
To analyze how well my method is working, I, for instance, could put Jim in a social setting and see how well he interacts with other children. This will show how he has developed emotionally, socially, and psychologically.
The Cognitive Domain has six levels. These are evaluation, synthesis, analysis, application, comprehension, and knowledge. It shows how much mental effort is required as one moves up different levels (Tandon et al. 2015). For instance, one must be able to have an awareness of the information to be able to comprehend it. As one improves from one level to the next, more skills one needs to be equipped with.
The Affective Domain has five levels and as one moves from one level to the next, the more the skills required. Levels are: characterization, organization, valuing, reporting, and receiving. In this domain, one moves from external to internal motivation. As one moves up the levels, the more skills that are required.
The Psychomotor-Behavioral Domain is basically for information. It involves neuro-muscular actions and expects physical dexterity (Piaget 1952). It has five levels namely: naturalization, articulation, precision, manipulation, and imitation.
Teachers should incorporate the three domains in their lessons and follow them from the simplest to the most complex.
From my session with Jim, I was able to see that he is very creative. This was shown in the types of pictures he drew after our session was over. He seemed to be having much brain activity that he expressed in his actions as opposed to in words. Jim was very caring to the stuffed dinosaur which in a way showed that he needed to be cared for in such a manner and felt neglected. Jim was also able to express how he felt when he lost his father and when they moved from a place he had grown accustomed. When I instructed him to tell a story of his own, it also helped him express his feelings and what he would have preferred.
This session, therefore, helped me see his inner world based on how he felt and I contributed to getting him through the difficulties he was facing. When children seem to have trouble in their daily lives, it is important to take measures to help them. This will ensure that they grow in all aspects and not just in some.
References
Brussoni, M. et al., 2012. Risky play and children’s safety: Balancing priorities for optimal child development. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9(9), pp.3134–3148.
Frost, J.L., 1998. Neuroscience, Play, and Child Development. Triennial National Conference IPA/USA, p.18.
Ginsburg, K.R. et al., 2007. The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bond?: Focus on Children in Poverty abstract. Pediatrics, 119(1), pp.182–188.
Ginsburg, K.R., 2007. The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 32(4), pp.413–438.
Glover, G. & Landreth, G.L., 2015. Child-Centered Play Therapy. In Handbook of Play Therapy: Second Edition. pp. 93–118.
Imagawa, M., 1984. Play and child development. Kurinikaru sutadi = Clinical study, 5, pp.852–1026.
Piaget, J., 1952. Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 3(6), pp.13–14.
Tamis-LeMonda, C.S., Baumwell, L. & Cristofaro, T., 2012. Parent-child conversations during play. First Language, 119(1), pp.182–191.
Tandon, P.S., Saelens, B.E. & Christakis, D.A., 2015. Active play opportunities at child care. Pediatrics, 5(September 2015), pp.6–18.
Vygotsky, L.S., 1967. Play and Its Role in the Mental Development of the Child. Soviet Psychology, 135(6), pp.e1425-31
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