“Nothing lights up a child’s brain like play.” ~ Dr Stuart Brown, M.D.
When you think of a baby or child, what is it that they want to do most?
They want to play… Right?
Babies are born ready to learn, they want to explore, touch, taste, smell, poke, pound, and throw everything they can get their hands on. This is learning and these are experiences their developing brain needs.
Through “hands on” interactive experiences young children are learning about their environment, how things in the world work and about relationships. Just realize, EVERYTHING is new to them. They need to use ALL of their senses and try things out in various ways. Through play children find out they can make things happen and realize that they can have an effect on their world and learn their role in it.
During play you will likely see children doing the same actions repeatedly. Repetition strengthens connections between the 86 billion neurons they were born with and leads to the creation of essential brain pathways.
Through repetition, the brain verifies that what it is experiencing is true.
Picture a child in a high chair with a ball. After learning (a lot) about the ball through putting it in their mouth, the child will likely throw it on the floor. He will lean over and watch the ball bounce and roll. He will motion to have an adult give him the ball again. He needs to throw the ball over and over so that his brain can see that it will bounce and roll once again. After he has had enough food to eat, he may throw any extra food on the floor repeatedly to see if it bounces and rolls like the ball did. He is learning about the similarities and differences between all of the interesting things he comes into contact with every day. His brain is making connections through all of these incredibly valuable experiences.
Optimal brain pathways are created through self-directed play with real objects and nurturing interactions with the important people in a child's life.
Additionally an abundance of research reveals that play in nature is necessary to the development of healthy brains. Nature also provides never ending wonder.
Play also provides the opportunity for the development of a child’s muscles, organization of multiple senses and many needed physical skills. It is not often realized how much the body contributes to wiring the brain for a wide variety of functions in life. Much of the wiring in a child’s brain takes place as a result of repeated movements of physical activities and using all of their senses through an abundance of exploration and experimentation.
When children are watching television or playing on screens that are said to promote learning, children actually are not learning as much as they could if they were playing with actual items or interacting with other people. Significant scientific research demonstrates that interaction creates much more brain activity than observing.
With the example of the baby in the high chair, he will not learn how a ball bounces and rolls if he only sees a picture of it on a flash card. He also will not know how a ball feels by watching a ball on a screen. When children are using screens, this is a missed opportunity for learning and strong connections being made in the brain through self-initiated play.
Play is natural. It is what children want to do (It is actually what adults love to do as well). It is how the brain learns best and it is where learning begins. An abundance of screen-free play is simply essential to healthy overall development, for learning and functioning well in life.
AND… interactive play with a caring adult that understands development is invaluable!
Let's promote the need for positive childhood experiences of play everywhere!
Because it is so incredibly important that babies and children have positive early childhood experiences, I invite you to share any play ideas or additional information on this topic. All of us will benefit from your tips, stories and comments added below.
Here is a fun play idea from the Love Your Baby Neuro-Nurturing® ringed book pack.
For a wealth of screen free play ideas that can easily be done in everyday life, to have right on hand go to www.BrainInsightsonline.com for the fun, unique and easy to use Neuro-Nurturing® ringed book packs.
Brain Insights makes all of this understandable and extremely easy to implement into everyday life.
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