When I think of child development, I imagine it like a growing garden. When my child was born, there was just an open empty outdoor space. Within minutes, shoots were appearing and my wife and I watered those like crazy. In this metaphor, water is all the basic needs a baby requires, as well as all their love and nurture. Providing in those early days is tough, and it takes every bit of energy you can muster, but everything you put in has a result somewhere down the line.
Play starts almost as soon as a baby is born, and continues through their development. When children play, they are undertaking all the learning they need in order to develop speech, mobility and emotions. Play takes care of all of that, without us having to be as conscious as we often feel we need to be. All we need to do is add water.
When play is interrupted, by many of modern society's distractions for example, it causes the garden's diversity to faulter. Think of it like pervasive weeds taking up valuable space which could be given over to hundreds of different varieties, with all their colour and height. Our job then becomes to enable as much diversity as possible by ensuring the garden's development is as natural as possible.
We plant seeds all the time, and some grow and some don't. Every time we add something to their play by responding to their play cues, a new seed is planted, or a plant grows higher. When we introduce our children to new sensory experiences, or social interactions, seeds are scattered far and wide.
Unlike a conventional garden, this garden has grown in its own unique way. We haven't controlled every aspect of it (it would be impossible to do so!), instead we have just ensured it is growing nicely, paying particular attention to diversity.
The beauty of play is it is something we don't have to understand fully, we just need to make sure it is happening. When we make play as free and open as possible, and plant as many seeds as we can, we give our children the best possible chance of developing to their maximum potential.
Comments