Chapter Nine
The Social Benefits of Play
Social Play
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Three abilities are needed for social play
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the child must have a firm grasp on reality, and
must make a clear distinction between reality and
make-believe
the child must be able to recognize the existence
of and obey the rules for taking turns, even when
rules are not specifically laid out at the beginning
of the game
the players must share their imaginations when
developing the themes of a play episode
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Parents of Securely Attached Children
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High self-esteem and confidence in parenting ability
Interested in and available to their babies
Sensitive and quick to respond to signs of infant
distress
Handle children affectionately
Use frequent eye contact, smiling, and emotional
expressiveness
Are playful and quick to recognized when child is
bored or too excited in play
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Securely Attached Children
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Greater signs of empathy and closer friendships at
all ages
More attuned to rules and expectations of the
elementary school peer group
In adolescence,
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display leadership qualities more often
more successful in all types of social encounters
more likely to be chosen as group leaders or spokespersons
more likely to have opinions sought by peers when involved in
group discussions
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Physical Play and Social Competence
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Popular children
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Engage in high levels of physical play with peers
Display a high degree of positive affect while doing so
Are willing to deviate from traditional roles and activities
Rejected children
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Have difficulty with the intensity of physical play
Often become over-stimulated and out of control
Allow their rough and tumble play degenerate into
aggressive behavior
Are unable to sustain a play activity for long
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Blocks
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Emotional Value
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Child achieves power and control by reducing the world to a
small scale
Child develops a sense of achievement because blocks are
easy to create with
Child realizes that destruction is reversible, and the impulse to
destroy is not wrong
Social Value
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Blocks are safe, non-threatening, and approachable
Blocks allow a complete range of social involvement play
Blocks don’t force but allow social interaction
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Blocks
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Blocks are an ideal first medium for children
because
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their appeal is universal,
they are sturdy and clean and are seen as safe
they offer the possibility of a broad spectrum of
social interaction.
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Stages in the Use of Clay
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What Is It?
Something to explore and experiment with
 Child pats it, pounds it, bangs it, throws it, tastes it
 This is typical of a young two year old
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Manipulation with no intent to create.
It is purely a sensory experience
 2 or 3-year-old child
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Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Stages in the Use of Clay
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Accidental Creation
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It is seen as something that can be transformed
into something else, but the creation is
unintentional.
Child is 3 or 4 years old
Intentional Creation
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Do adults usually assume this is where all
children are when they use clay?
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
The Value of Clay
An open-ended and creative material
 Has a “magical tongue-loosening quality”
 Allows release of hostility and tension
 Allows for exploration of issues related to
sexuality and the body
 Not for a child obsessed with neatness or very
product-oriented
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Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Musical Preferences of Children
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Dancing and moving freely to music (42.7%)
Singing songs (29%)
Playing musical instruments (16.5%).
The least preferred activities are:
 listening to music (4.5%)
 Creating new songs (4.5%)
Young children want to be active participants
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Creative Movement
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What is it?
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It is the use of the body to express symbolically one’s
ideas, feelings, and sense impressions
What are its benefits for children?
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They learn about themselves
They improve their self-confidence
They discover the value of physical movement as a way to
communicate and to interpret the communications of
other people
They experience gains in overall social competence
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Helping the Unpopular Child
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Social intervention programs use one of the
following three formats:
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Modeling – the child watches videos of people in
a variety of social situations, and the behaviors
modeled include
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Sharing
Cooperating
Being supportive of another person
Communicating effectively
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play
Helping the Unpopular Child
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Coaching – the child is provided with
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Specific instruction in social skills
Rehearsal of those skills
Feedback indicating how successful the child was in
using the skills
Shaping – the child is rewarded for displaying the
types of skills likely to make him or her more
successful in the peer group
Children, Play, and Development, Fourth Edition
Chapter 9: The Social Benefits of Play