88 | April 2013 www.womanthismonth.com ParentingJust Playing? As adults, life constantly presents us with problems. Life offers less problems to young children, in some ways as other people are there to think for them, help them, do for them, and sometimes denying them the need and experience of solving problems for themselves. Yet observe your children as they play and you will see them reflecting, problem solving and creating. This is usually accompanied by energy burst of excitement and, of course, concentration. However, how can you support your child? This article will provide you with some practical solutions. There has been a considerable amount of research, conducted mostly on preschool children, on the relationship between play and problem solving. A child’s natural response to a problem is often to ask for help, for example, if they need a drink or if they require their shoe laces tying. We even see children handing rubbish to parents for them to put it in a bin. Through your caring nature you may wish to solve their problems for them — this is natural. What can you do? Research suggests that opportunities to play with a variety of materials is linked to the development of two key skills — abstract (symbolic) and divergent thinking (exploring as many aspects to a problem as possible) — which foster problem solving abilities (Burke, 2010). Despite the elusive nature of play, there is a superiority of play over non-play activities. Moroever, play is so natural and the resources used do not need to be expensive or specialised. Think of children making a space ship or a den out of boxes and the way nature and play are so attuned, and where children play with sand and water for hours! When such play is happening, you can just step back and ensure that your children are safe and happy while they develop team skills and contribute ideas verbally and non-verbally. You may want to ask some open questions on occasions to guide their thinking if something is not working for them after they have tried a number of solutions. You will be able to sense when this is appropriate by the feeling and mood of your child. Are they looking confused or frustrated? An element of confusion is good as this allows them to consider and experiment with solutions; however, frustration may need your attention to keep them interested. Yet frustration can also ignite determination to succeed, so don’t step in too soon! It’s important to learn about your child’s interests to encourage play and problem solving. Play is often a great way to express creativity and solve problems, says CLARE BECKETT-MCINROY.
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