1.1 Children and young people have an in built impulse to play this inbuilt impulse aids children and young people’s development. The innate drive enables children to support and develop their skills using Play. “All children and young people need to play.”1 From play work principles 2006. Play is important for children and young people as it helps support, develop skills and prompts well-being. In the care4kids setting we strive to allow the children free play opportunities and free flow throughout the setting. We allow the children free choice and allow them to play without adult input unless asked. The children use laminated hands to express their activity wishes and wants. Which the play workers use to plan the activities for the following sessions.
1.2 On reading play in children’s development, health and well-being by Jeffrey Goldstein Feb 2012 and The Atlantic “all work and no play: why your kids are more anxious, depressed.” Which lead me to the American journal of play vol 3 no.4 spring 2011 the decline of play and the rise of psychopathology in children and adolescents by Peter Gray. I agree that children and young people need to play in order to learn and develop. Play enables children and young people explore the world around them and build knowledge of themselves and others. Play has immediate effects on a children and young people health and well-being it benefits their fitness and brain development. “Play promotes joy, which is essential for self-esteem and health. The learning process is self-sustained based as it is on natural love of learning and playful engagement with life”2 this statement for me symbolises why play is important and necessary for children from birth onwards, and our changing culture of electronic devises takes this away from children and young people this along with the change in society of risk assessing things before we allow children to explore and play freely has and an effect from reading both articles especially the American journal of play . The Atlantic article highlights the decline in play opportunities and the effect it has had on children throughout the years/decades. The effects it has had on children’s and young people’s development “over the past half century, in the united states and other developed nations children’s free play with other children has declined sharply. Over the same period anxiety, depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism have increased sharply in children, adolescents, and young adults”.3 So in conclusion play is a necessity for children and young people and us as play workers need to help facilitate this to the best of our abilities. In the afterschool setting we aim to provide the children with the resources to have free play with and allow them the time and opportunities to do this. We have an excellent site for our club set in a village which allows the children to explore the outside including a safe woods area and play parks which I feel promotes free play.
1.3 Play is both biologically and psychologically fundamental to children’s and young people’s development and well-being. Children are biologically built to want and need to play. Play is essential for psychological brain development and helps support children social, emotional and physical development. In the setting we set up play opportunities which cover all areas of development but also allows for free play we allow the children choice and independence for example this week for father’s day I gave the children the resources and materials to make cards to promote free choice and allow the creative thinking of the children to flow I gave no direction only help and guidance when they asked for it. This resulted in some excellent cards which the children were proud of.
Task 2
2.1 The UN convention on the rights of the child article 31 is important to the right to play for all
