Play in Children or Play Therapy (Importance of Play, Functions of Play, Age-Related Play, Categories of Play, Types of Play, Selection, Safety and Guidelines)..

1. Alam Nuzhathalam1 Associate Professor

2. PLAY THERAPY
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 Introduction
 Definition
 Importance of Play
 Functions of Play
 Age-related Play
 Categories of Play
 Types of Play
 Safety, Selection and Guidelines

3. PLAY
Introduction:
 Play is universal for all children. It pleasurable and
enjoyable aspect of child’s life and essential to promote
growth and development
 Play is an important part of the childhood
development. Through play children learn about
shapes, colors, cause and effect, and themselves.
Besides cognitive thinking, play helps the child learn
social and psychomotor skills. It is a way of
communicating joy, fear, sorrow, and anxiety
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4. PLAY
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Definition:
 Play is the work of children. It consists of those
activities performed for self-amusement that have
behavioral, social, and psychomotor rewards. It is
child-directed, and the rewards come from within
the individual child; it is enjoyable and spontaneous
 A physical or mental leisure activity that is
undertaken purely for enjoyment or amusement and
has no other objective

5. IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
Child:
 Enhance coping abilities
 Express fear, anxiety, tension, anger, fantasies
 Understand hospital procedures
 Communicate & reduce emotional trauma
 Continue growth & development
 Get rid of boredom
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6. Cont….
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Health Team:
 Gain co-operation and trust of the child
 Diagnose child’s feelings and behaviour
 Find out child’s misconceptions and beliefs
 Promote parent participation in child care

7. FUNCTIONS OF PLAY
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 1. Physical development
 2. Emotional development
 3. Cognitive development
 4. Social development
 5. Moral development

8. Physical Development
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 Play aids in developing both fine and gross motor
skills. Children repeat certain body movements purely
for pleasure, and these movements develop body
control. For example, an infant will first hit at a toy,
then will try to grasp it, and eventually will be able to
pick it up
 Next, the infant will shake the rattle or perhaps bring
it to the mouth. In these ways, the infant moves from
simple to more complex gestures

9. Emotional Development
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 Children who are anxious may be helped by role
playing. Role playing is a way of coping with
emotional conflict. Children may escape through play
into a fantasy world in order to make sense out of the
real one
 Also, a child's self-awareness deepens as he explores
an event through role-playing or symbolic play

10. Cognitive Development
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 Children gain knowledge through their play. They
exercise their abilities to think, remember, and solve
problems. Children increase their problem-solving
abilities through games and puzzles. Children involved
in make-believe play can stimulate several types of
learning
 Children also increase their understanding of size,
shape, and texture. They begin to understand
relationships as they try to put a square object in a
round opening or a large object in a small space

11. Social Development
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 A newborn cannot distinguish itself from others and is
completely self-absorbed. As the infant begins to play
with others and with objects, a realization of self as
separate from others begins to develop
 The infant begins to experience joy from contact with
others and engages in behavior that involves others. The
infant discovers that when he coos or laughs, mother
coos back. The child soon expects this response and
repeats it for fun, playing with his mother

12. Moral Development
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 When children engage in play with their peers and
families, they begin to learn some behaviors are
acceptable while others are unacceptable
 Parents can develop morals while reading to children
by stressing the moral implications in stories. With peers
they quickly learn that taking turns is rewarding and
cheating is not
 Group play helps the child appreciate teamwork and
share and respect others' feelings. The child learns how
to be kind and charitable to others

13. AGE-RELATED PLAY
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 1. Solitary Play
 2. Parallel Play
 3. Associative Play
 4. Co-operative Play
 5. On-looker Play

14. 1. Solitary/Independent Play
Solitary/Independent Play
The child plays alone with
toys that are different from
those chosen by other
children in the area.
Solitary play begins in
infancy and is common in
toddlers because of their
limited social, cognitive, and
physical skills. However, it is
important for all age
groups to have some time to
play by themselves
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15. 2. Parallel Play
Parallel Play is usually
associated with toddlers,
although it happens in any
age group. Children play
side by side with similar
toys, but there is a lack of
group involvement
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16. 3. Associative Play
Associative Play involves a
group of children who have
similar goals. Children in
associate play do not set
rules, and although they all
want to be playing with the
same types of toys and
may even trade toys, there
is no formal organization.
Associative play begins
during toddlerhood and
extends to preschool
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17. 4. Co-operative Play
Cooperative Play begins in
the late preschool period. The
play is organized by group
goals. There is at least one
leader, and children are
definitely in or out of the
group. It means that child has
the skills they'll need later to
collaborate and cooperate at
school and in other typical
social settings, like sports
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18. 5. Onlooker/Spectator Play
Onlooker Play is present
when the child watches
others playing. Although the
child may ask questions of
the players, there is no
effort to join the play. This
type of play usually starts
during toddler years but
can take place at any age
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19. CATEGORIES OF PLAY
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 1. Physical Play
 2. Expressive Play
 3. Manipulative/Functional Play
 4. Symbolic Play
 5. Dramatic Play
 6. Surrogate Play

20. 1. Physical Play
It includes activities that
use physical movements to
allow children to use their
energy, and it gives
children the chance to
develop gross and fine
motor skills, learn new
things and socialize.
Physical play also benefits
a child's health
 Eg. Run, jump, climb etc
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21. 2. Expressive Play
It is a natural function of
childhood development, as
the creative minds of
children find their outlet in
telling stories dramatically.
Expressive play refers to
the child's immersion in an
imaginary world, complete
with characters, setting, and
dialogue
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22. 3. Manipulative/Functional Play
A child uses their hands to
manipulate toys and objects
to learn about how to use
them. This includes
construction play, arts and
crafts and tool-use (e.g.
scissors) and helps to
develop eye-hand co-
ordination
 Eg: Drops a toy, Wait for
the parent to pick it, clean
it & return it, & they drop it
again
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23. 4. Symbolic Play
It is the ability of children to
use objects, actions or ideas
to represent other objects,
actions, or ideas as play. A
child may push a block
around the floor as a car or
put it to his ear as a cell
phone
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24. 5. Dramatic Play
It is a play where children
accept and assign roles,
and then act them out. It is
a time when they break
through the walls of
reality, pretend to be
someone or something
different from themselves,
and dramatize situations
and actions to go along
with the roles they have
chosen to play
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25. 6. Surrogate play
❑ For children who are
severely ill
 Parent/another child is a
surrogate
 Watching the surrogate
play, stimulates the sick
child
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26. TYPES OF PLAY
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 1. Emotional outlet/Dramatic play
 2. Instructional Play
 3. Physiological Enhancing Play
 4. Social Play

27. 1. Emotional Outlet/Dramatic play
Dramatic Play: Children
accept and assign roles,
and then act them out. It is
a time when they break
through the walls of
reality, pretend to be
someone or something
different from themselves,
and dramatize situations
and actions to go along
with the roles they have
chosen to play
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28. 2. Instructional Play
Instructional Play: Play which,
given specifiable conditions in
the learner and in his/her
environment, produces
predictable learning outcomes
in the player. Instruction is
given for therapeutic play
according to their past
experiences, coping abilities
& physiological status
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29. 3. Physiological Enhancing Play
Physiological
 Used to improve &
maintain physical health &
body functions
 Selected to treat
pathological condition
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30. 4. Social Play
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Social Play
 4.1 Solitary Play
 4.2 Parallel Play
 4.3 Associative Play
 4.4 Co-operative Play
 4.5 On-looker play

31. PLAY THERAPY
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Non-Directive Play Therapy:
 Client centered or unstructured play therapy
 If allowed to play freely, children resolve their own
problem & work towards their own solution
 Few boundaries & can be used at any age
Directive Play Therapy:
 Directions given for play
 Causes faster change & more structured than non-
directive play
 Games chosen by the child, therapists give directions

32. COMMON PROBLEMS
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 Challenge, as child cant voluntarilyengage
 Parents need to understand theimportance
 Play activities vary depending on cultural & socio-
economic circumstances
 Not knowing the grouplanguages

33. SAFETY ISSUES
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 Should bewashable
 Should have no sharp edges & nosmall parts
 Tossing ball to a child with cast fall
 Chasing ball falls, collisions
 If toy is used for a long time, can use it in unsafe way

34. SELECTION OF PLAY MATERIALS
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 Selection of play materials and toys depends upon
age, abilities, interest, like and dislike, cultural,
experience, personality and level of intelligence of
the child.

35. GUIDELINES FOR SELECTING TOYS
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 Safe, washable, light weight, simple, durable, easy to
handle and non- breakable
 Realistic, attractive, constructive and offer problem solving
opportunities
 No sharp edges and no small removable parts which may
be swallowed or inhaled
 Not over stimulating and frustrating
 No toxic paints, not costly, not inflammable & not more noisy
 Play things with electrical plugs should be avoided, only
children over 8 years of age should be permitted

36. CHILDREN MUST BE TAUGHT
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Children must be taught the following:
 Correct use of toys
 Parents should explain the directions for use and the
causation labels
 Safe storing of toys in a space with easy reach and
away from busy areas
 Keeping the playthings in good conditions. Parents
should repair or discard damaged and broken toys

37. NURSING RESPONSIBILITIES
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 Organise play activities
 Flexibility in play time
 Play materials should b placed in separate room
 Age appropriate play articles should be provided
 Involve all members for play
 Interact during play
 Observe & record child’s behaviour
 Protect & guide children when aggressive
 Participate with the children during play
 Teach the importance of play

38. Alam Nuzhathalam38
Thank You