As parents, we know that through play children learn to express themselves and acquire basic knowledge and skills for different stages of life. We also know that play is important for developing social skills and building relationships with others .
But what factors influence this? How can we enhance these skills in our relationship with our children?
Keep reading as we analyze these and other very interesting issues.
Psycholinguistics and play: the importance of social relationships in childhood
The Psycholinguistics It is the branch of science that studies verbal behavior in relation to psychological aspects. That is, it studies the development of speech in relation to... psychological and emotional development during the childhood.
In this sense, and following the ideas of Dr. Claudia Lemos (State University of Campinas, Brazil), children develop language under the logic of interactionism. That is, through their relationship with others. And play is key in building that relationship.
The books of illustrated stories , the Symbolic play , the creation of scenes that are not real but stimulate creativity, fosters the development of communication skills. "Pretend play," such as playing with toy kitchens, pretending to be doctors or veterinarians, etc., is also beneficial.
Symbolic play is fundamental for the development of language as well as thought (shaping playdough, making bubbles that float away in the air, exploring different textures). Through these games, children develop what is known as visual-perceptual skills. This involves the recognition of shapes, sizes, and colors, from which they develop activities of recognition, recall, and manipulation of visual information.
How do children learn through play?
Firstly, we could say that, based on the interactionist idea, developed by the Brazilian linguist, according to which language is acquired from another person responds and means what the child is trying to say .
This is when children use words they invent, which acquire meaning when an adult or even another child gives meaning to what the child says.
For example, when they say "totótamo." And at first you don't know what they mean. But after a few interactions through play, you end up discovering that for your child that word means hippopotamus.
Through play , children expand their vocabulary , progressing from expressing individual words to constructing simple sentences, then complex sentences, and so on until they can narrate or have a more fluent discourse.
Through play, many aspects of language development, motivation, and memory are stimulated. Since play is a child's primary activity, it's a way to motivate them to learn new things; it's the interaction that allows us to immerse them in new experiences.
Learning through play is continuous and relational
A fundamental principle of learning through play is to connect the different spheres of children's daily lives (their home, school, community, and the stimuli they receive from the world in general). Children need the continuity and connectivity of learning in time and among the different situations they experience.
For their part , the adults involved in each of these areas play a very important role in facilitating this continuity and connectivity of learning: recognizing, initiating, guiding and organizing play experiences that promote the child's capacity for action.
Different levels of interaction in the game
The continuum of learning through play has Different levels of relationship between children and adults in play experiences : free play provides children with absolute freedom to play, explore and discover; from there, progress is made towards a more guided or structured type of play, with different degrees of adult participation.
What are the most recommended games to stimulate language development?
Reading illustrated stories together has been shown to be one of the activities most directly linked to the development of children's language.
During this game, the key is to talk about the figures depicted in the books through interactive dialogue. For example, if the book is about animals, then the "reading" should focus on naming the animals, imitating the sounds they make, discussing situations in the book, or inventing new ones that resonate emotionally with the children. Depending on their developmental stage, they will imitate this dialogue.
Another fun activity is drawing (once children start using pencils, around age one) and crafts with modeling clay (from age three). In both activities, the focus of the game is on situations invented by the children, and in most cases, they imitate or reproduce words or ideas shared with adults during a previous game.
We invite you to browse our online store to discover many stories and games to stimulate and promote the development of your child's language.
