Play-the Language of Childhood

The best language for children

One of my best memories of play is the time my sisters and I set up a classroom in our upstairs with our “lite” [Pennsylvania Dutch word for ‘people’]. to play school. One sister (who remains nameless) did the best rendition of a classmate with whom she was frustrated. We played to our hearts’ content, squealing with laughter at her antics. By the time we were done, any tension we possibly had disappeared. Laughter used muscles and released endorphins into our systems. At the end of the evening, sleep came easily.

Many evenings, we congregated upstairs in the room our lite were set up and decided what we wanted to play this time. We usually chose a particular character or event to emulate, whether it was from school, church, cousins, or neighbors. For some reason, it was more fun when we based it on something real instead of just making it up.

One evening in exasperation, my sister Alice, whom Mama called her peacemaker, said, “Why can’t we just be normal people for once?” She meant we didn’t have to copy anyone – we should just play happily as real life should be. 

Play is a tool

Play is the best tool for a child to develop and grow.  When a child is too young to talk and has no words to express himself, he learns through play. When children are older, they verbally express feeling and process their experiences. That’s what happened when we played lite. Instead of taking out her frustrations at school, my sister expelled those frustrations by processing her experiences in school through play. I guarantee you that it was more fun to act out what was real-life to us than had we just pretended with a scene with which we were unfamiliar.

We do act out our inner lives through play. We communicate our emotions and experiences in play. That’s why it’s important that adults take notice of how their children play. When we had foster children, I learned a lot about their families by listening to my kiddos play. They re-enacted their own experiences, which was eye-opening to me as I listened from the next room.

Laughter, an important key

Laughter produces “feel good” hormones. A child’s play must include laughter, for is it really play if there is no laughter? Those feel good hormones promote social bonding. Children who laugh together in play create a bond. I truly believe this is one of the reasons my sisters and I are bonded today. In warmer days, we spent hours outdoor in play. In the winter, we sequestered ourselves when it was too cold to be outside, and played together. 

Squabbling is part of play

Did we always get along? Of course not. Did we fight and squabble?  Certainly. Squabbling helps children work through disagreements and solve problems. They learn to work out differences, take turns, and share. When we allow children to work through their discord, it can help them learn skills. This is why play is important for children. This is also why we must recognize that squabbling is part of play.

Playtime is the best time

While children need to learn to work, they also need time to play. Children must learn responsibility and this happens through assigned “jobs” at home. This also helps prepare them for the real world – the time they themselves have a job.

Yet, the language of laughter and the language of childhood is play. Teach your children responsibility – and be sure to encourage them to play.