Early Years Research Paper

Playing in early childhood years is a critical part of this period within the lifespan. It positively influences the development of many areas and has a large effect on who they will become as adults. Children are able to learn and improve skills through play, as well as influencing social and cultural and how it influences them as a person. Overall, this essay will answer why play is considered to be essential to any early years programme by discussing play, what children are able to learn by playing, the social and cultural context for children and how it influences children with reference to the theories of play and learning as well as Te Whàriki. 


In regard to an early years programme, many centres organise their activities around play.
Whether it is an infant crawling to get a toy of interest, or a pre schooler practising on the monkey bars on the playground, children need to move in order to learn about their bodies and the world around them. However, it also effects other aspects, such as playing improves emotional wellbeing, or stimulating the brain and sensors (White, 2008). In strand five of Te Whàriki, it focuses on how children learn through active exploration of the environment, such as gaining confidence and control of themselves. Whereas, emotional development in early childhood can be challenging for some children. In an early childhood setting, children who are playing together begin to learn how to share, and work with others which can cause frustration and anger. Especially as they are learning different emotions, this is an important time for teachers and parents to help children understand, and help regulate and control strong emotions during certain times (Drewey & Claiborne, 2014). Nevertheless, depending on the situation it can also be helpful for the children to figure it out for
When the child is with parents, their needs are not met. In this instance, the child is not living a healthy childhood. They are learning from their parents, including language, behaviour and so forth, which can negatively influence all aspects of development. In this case, play is critical for children who live in these environments, as they need to learn what they're bodies are capable of and explore and understand the world around them. However, not being around other children or teachers can make it challenging to learn social and other important skills and impair their