Why Is Play with Siblings and Peers Important for Children's Development?
Why is play with siblings and peers important for children’s development?
For some time play has been considered a vital activity for children in enabling them to develop and practice real social skills in a safe setting. Whilst interactions with adults can be very important it is often, due to the nature of the relationship, when children interact with peers and siblings that the potential for development through play becomes apparent. Play can be based either on complimentary or reciprocal processes. A complimentary process being when one individual has more social power and reciprocal being when two individuals have similar power and education. In order to see why play is important to child development, it is important to look at how various aspects of play with peers relate to the major theories of child development. Therefore whilst looking at the developments that can take place, this essay will also consider how this development comes about through the theories of development. Which specific aspects of development are evident in sibling and peer relationships will be analysed in light of the research that has been undertaken in this area, along with a look at the limitations of this research and a consideration of what other things influence a child’s learning. The conclusion will finally consider why play with peers and siblings is important.
Firstly then play with peers can help with conflict resolution and understanding other points of view. An example of this is in Playfighting where it is felt that children can develop these skills. Often this is a reciprocal process, in that the children are likely to be the same age and education level, as playfighting is often a playground game. Littleton and Meill (2005) consider, through discourse analysis, that children can become skilled communicators through playfighting and found that children were able to ‘instruct each other on how to behave and what to say in their respective roles’ (2005, p.
For some time play has been considered a vital activity for children in enabling them to develop and practice real social skills in a safe setting. Whilst interactions with adults can be very important it is often, due to the nature of the relationship, when children interact with peers and siblings that the potential for development through play becomes apparent. Play can be based either on complimentary or reciprocal processes. A complimentary process being when one individual has more social power and reciprocal being when two individuals have similar power and education. In order to see why play is important to child development, it is important to look at how various aspects of play with peers relate to the major theories of child development. Therefore whilst looking at the developments that can take place, this essay will also consider how this development comes about through the theories of development. Which specific aspects of development are evident in sibling and peer relationships will be analysed in light of the research that has been undertaken in this area, along with a look at the limitations of this research and a consideration of what other things influence a child’s learning. The conclusion will finally consider why play with peers and siblings is important.
Firstly then play with peers can help with conflict resolution and understanding other points of view. An example of this is in Playfighting where it is felt that children can develop these skills. Often this is a reciprocal process, in that the children are likely to be the same age and education level, as playfighting is often a playground game. Littleton and Meill (2005) consider, through discourse analysis, that children can become skilled communicators through playfighting and found that children were able to ‘instruct each other on how to behave and what to say in their respective roles’ (2005, p.