Encourage constructive play in young children

Children enjoy all kinds of games as it helps them to promote their development and they also have a good time. Children play according to their development so they can move from one stage of the game to another. The first stage of play is what is known as functional play, which is when children find the simple pleasure of moving objects and exploring toys through their senses.

Constructive play is the next stage of play in children. At this stage, young children have a deep understanding of what objects can do and will try to build things with toys and everyday objects available to them.

A LONGER ATTENTION SPAN

It is around two years when children begin to have a longer attention span than previous months. This means that your child can spend more time sitting and concentrating on activities with a set of toys. During this extended playtime, you may see your little one move the toys or hit them for different purposes.

At this stage you can see how he becomes interested in block play . After spending time in the functional play phase with the blocks, you know what it is, how big it is, and that if you place one on a flat, stable surface, it won’t fall off! Although it may seem simple, for your little one it is a great discovery. Then you will start stacking the blocks one on top of the other. Your child can build a basic tower and then place other figures around it as if he were creating a house … he knows what he wants to build!

ENCOURAGE CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY

While young children are excellent to enjoy playing with boxes, paper and everyday objects as their favorite toys, there are also other commercial toys that are good ideas to strengthen this stage of development and then be enjoyed in stages later. Some ideas for this type of game are:

Parts blocksColored waxes, paper, non-toxic paints, etc.

Blackboards with non-toxic chalk

Toys in the shape of animals or others

Sand and water

Ideally, you should look for toys and materials that promote open play, this means that you have several options to choose from in your game but without being overwhelmed by this. The child will have the freedom to build things from his imagination compared to toys that are already established to make things.

CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY BENEFITS

When young children play with these types of toys, they will have the opportunity to develop many different skills . Some of them are the following:

• • By building blocks, children recreate scenes from their life, such as going to the zoo or creating houses … it will help them understand their world and process information better.

• • Playing with sand or plasticine implies that they try to represent one object through another, essential for working with abstract thinking.

• Using materials to enhance art helps children create images in their minds and enhance the fine motor skills they will need in the future to write and perform more complicated tasks such as buttoning clothes.

Most importantly, constructive play sparks children’s imagination and creativity , so it will prepare your child for symbolic play in later stages.

If you see that your child finds it difficult to play alone, you can help him create scenes and build blocks with you, so that he will have you as a reference and then allow him to have absolute freedom to create his own games . Children benefit a lot from games that do not have instructions or specific guidance from an adult.