The Importance of play During Childhood: The Lesson for care Givers, Parents and Pre-schools in Tanzania

Authors

  • Stephen Mabagala
  • Daphina Libent Mabagala

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61538/huria.v11i0.504

Abstract

As early as infancy, children immerse themselves in playful activities with the purpose of making sense of the world around them. However, their effort to achieve this is most frequently halted by parents, care givers and teachers who work around with them. There have been questions surrounding the importance of play for children in Tanzania. The major question has been what children learn when they play. Lack of knowledge on the importance of play for children has led parents, care givers and pre-school teachers deny children their rights to play, instead they have placed more emphasis on reading and arithmetic. This paper is based on literature review, and presents the developmental stages of childhood and discusses the importance of play for cognitive, social, emotional and physical development of children. The paper suggests that parents, community and preschools, and society as a whole should create conducive and safe environment for children to play, so as to help children to develop their capabilities to their full potentials.

Author Biographies

Stephen Mabagala

Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences School of Education, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Daphina Libent Mabagala

Department of Psychology and Special Education Faculty of EducationThe Open University of Tanzania, Tanzania

References

Bergen, D. (2002). The Role of Pretend play in Children’s cognitive Development. Association of Childhood Education International, 4 (2), 1-10.

Bergen, D., and Mauer, D. (2000). Symbolic play, Phonological Awareness, and Literacy Skills at three age Levels. In K. A. Roskos and J. F. Christie (Eds.), Play and Literacy in Early Childhood: Research from Multiple Perspectives. New York: Erlbaum. Pp.45-62.

Berk, L. (2005). Infants and children: Prenatal Through Middle Childhood, (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Bodrova, E., and Leong, D. (1996). Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early childhood Education. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Brown. (2002). The Power of Play: A strategy to meet the Developmental and Learning needs of Young Children. New York: UNICEF.

Cheong, P. (2011). The importance of a child’s play. http://ezinearticles.com/?TheImportance-of-a-Childs-Play&id=733513

Cordes, K. A., and Ibrahim, H. M. (1999). Applications in Recreation and Leisure for Today and Future, (2nd ed). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Crawford, K. (1996). Vygotskian Approaches to Human Development in the Information Era. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 31, 43-62.

Dzewaltowski, D. (2005). Prevention of the epidemic increase in child risk of overweight in low-income schools: The El Paso coordinated approach to child health. Arch Pediatric Adolescent Medicine (159), 217-224.

Elias, M. J., & Arnold, H. (2006). The Educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement: Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Fairclough, S., & Stratton, G. (2005) ‘Physical education makes you fit and healthy’. Physical education’s contribution to young people’s physical activity levels. Health Education Research (20)(1) 14-23.

Fantuzzo J., Bulotsky R., McDermott P., Mosca S., & Lutz, M. N. (2003). A multivariate analysis of emotional and behavioral adjustment and preschool educational outcomes. School Psychology Review. 32, 185–203

Fardy, P., Azzollini, A., & Herman, A. (2004). Health-based physical education in urban high schools: The PATH Program. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education (23), 359-371.

Fitzgibbon, M. L., Stolley, M.R., Dyer, A.R., VanHorn, L., & KauferChristoffel, K. (2002). A community-based obesity prevention program for minority children: rationale and study design for hip hop to health, jr. Preventative Medicine (34), 289-297.

Froebel, F. (1894). The education of man. New York: Appleton & co.

Gandhi, P. R. (2000). Blackstone’s international human rights documents (2nd Ed). London: Blackstone Press Ltd.

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. American Academy of Pediatrics, 119(1). 182-191.

Ginsburg K. R., & Jablow, M. (2006). A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Your Child Roots and Wings. Illinois: American Academy of Pediatrics.

Gurian M., & Stevens, K. (2005). The minds of boys: Saving our sons from falling behind in school and life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, F. P. (1999). Children, play, and development, (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Hurwitz, S. C. (2003). To be successful: let them play! Child Educ,79, 101–102

Johnson, M., Christie, D., & Wardle, P. (2005). Play, development and early education. Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA.

Lindon, J. (2002). What is play? London: National Children’s Bureau.

Malawi Government. (2004). Early childhood development basic training manual. Paris: UNICEF.

Malina, R. M. & Bouchard, C. (1991). Growth, maturation, and physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

McWayne C. M., Fantuzzo, J. W., McDermott, P. A. (2004). Preschool competency in context: an investigation of the unique contribution of child competencies to early academic success. Developmental Psychology. 40, 633–645.

Pellegrini, A. D., Kato, K., Blatchford, P., & Baines, E. (2002). A short-term longitudinal study of children’s playground games across the first year of school: implications for social competence and adjustment to school.

American Educational Reesearch. 39, 991–1015

Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.

Rowland, T. W. (1990). Exercise and Children’s Health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Rushton, C. (2011). Importance of play for children's physical development. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5245265_importance-playchildren_s-physical-development.html on 2nd July 2011

Satcher, D. (2005). Healthy and ready to learn: Research shows that nutrition and physical activity affect student academic achievement. Educational Leadership (63), 26-30.

Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Shannon, J. D., Cabrera, N. J., & Lamb, M. E. (2004). Fathers and mothers at play with their 2- and 3-year-olds: contributions to language and cognitive development. Child Development, 75, 1806–1820.

Theories about play in early childhood education. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5444159_theories-play-early-childhoodeducation.html on 2nd July 2011

Tombs, M. (2011). The Importance of play in a child’s development. Retrieved from http://www.lbcma.org.uk/newsArticles/NAplay.asp on 2nd July 2011.

Tsao, L. (2002). How much do we know about the importance of play in child development? Child Education, 78, 230-233.

UNICEF Implementation handbook for the convention on the rights of the child (1999); “A World Fit for Childrenâ€, http://www.peace.ca/AWorldFitFor Children.pdf

US Public Health Service. (2006). Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington, DC:

Department of Health and Human Services; 2000. Available at: www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/topics/cmh/childreport.htm. Accessed June 22, 2011.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

White, R. (2004). Young children's relationship with nature: Its importance to children's development & the earth's future. White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group.

Wilson, R. A. (2000). Outdoor Experiences for Young Children (ERIC Digest).

Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools (ERIC Identifier ED448013

Wuest, D. A., & Bucher, C.A. (1999). Foundations of physical education and sport, (13th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Zimmerman F. J., & Christakis, D. A. (2005). Children’s television viewing and cognitive outcomes: a longitudinal analysis of national data. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 159, 619–625.

Zins J. E. (2004). Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say? New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Downloads