Essay Example Describing the Play Observation

Children plays are fundamental in their development because it determines the lifetime behavior of an individual when they come of age. It is important to note that different play stages develop specific behavior and personality of a child at a given level. All the play stages though different in practice, they are aimed at nurturing some of the vital skills in the development of the child which may include promotion of the child's creativity on how to solve problems when interacting with his/her peers. Furthermore, plays improve the physical well-being of the child since it enhances muscle development and coordination skills. It also enables the child to develop self-regulatory skills which are important in the interaction with fellow children and even the inclusion of the reading and writing materials improves the child's reading, writing and comprehension abilities. Some of the most common plays are onlookers, solitary, associative, cooperative, exploratory, symbolic competitive and parallel games which differ depending on the age of the child.

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It was roughly quarter to four on a Sunday, and from my observation, the children were engaged in different types of play because it was a recreational center, a more of a park. The children's age ranged from 1-5years. I noticed that some children were actively playing with each other, others stayed close to their parents while observing what others were doing and some were wholly engaged in their toys playing with themselves. The most prevalent plays seen were exploratory, solitary, and associative and onlooker plays. The diversity was based on the age of the children since they were of different ages and also the family background.

I observed exploratory play when I saw the children interacting freely and enjoying the bouncing castle. For instance, when I got to the recreational facility "Jaiden alighted immediately I parked the car and ran towards the location of the bouncing castle and without delay, he started jumping and enjoying with other children who were already there." I also observed some children were crying when it was time to leave for home, some preferred remaining behind to enjoy the play with other children. The exploratory play was the most common play, and I realized that some children never bothered to care for the whereabouts of the caregivers/ parents. Though others kept on checking the location of the parents/caregivers by coming for more snacks and juices to reenergize before going back.

Even though some children were enjoying the play, some feared to join others at the bouncing castle and stayed with the parents while enjoying others move. Some, on the other hand, were entirely playing a different game amongst themselves and also some with the parents. Some children did notice when I moved closer to the bouncing castle and tried to behave differently while shy at the same time. Some of the children never cared for and moved on with the play. For the toddlers, they preferred playing with the caregivers/parents on bouncing castle rather than playing alone or with other children.

It was a great experience watching the children play, and I realized that it was more fun when they play with other children while others preferred enjoying the play with the caregivers. The interaction triggered mixed behaviors which were entirely different depending on the age of the children. The mixed reactions towards the end of the plays clearly showed that it affected the children in different ways, but more importantly, it improved the children's behavior and how they relate with others. Play improves the development of children at different levels and also shapes their lifetime behaviors and personality.