Play and Communication
“Play is the language of children. Have you spoken it to them lately?” ~Vince Gowmon
One of my favorite ways to help kids (and adults!) build communication skills is play. Building communication skills around play can decrease frustration and tantrums, enhance relationships, and help relieve stress. One longitudinal study demonstrated that improving communication skills not only decreases frustration in the current moment, but can also help with temperament in the long-term (Roben, Cole, & Armstrong, 2012). Who doesn’t want to avoid anger management in their preschooler?!
There seems to be a reciprocal relationship between play and language development. A study by Stagnitti & Lewis (2015) showed that pretend play skills in preschoolers are a predictor of story re-telling and thought organization abilities up to 5 years later. On the flip side, play provides an environment for learning new words and concepts, problem solving, turn-taking, understanding others’ perspectives, imaginative thinking, and sensory exploration.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP; Ginsburg, et al, 2007) encourages parents to offer a mix of solo, self-directed play and interactive, adult-modeled play. From a language learning perspective, play puts an adult on the child’s level. Being face-to-face allows a child to not only see your mouth and imitate the words and sounds you make, but also enhances attachment and bonding.
“Parents [caregivers] who have the opportunity to glimpse into their children’s world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer gentle, nurturing guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, experiences, and even frustrations through play, allowing their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children.”
- AAP guidleines on play and child development
HOW TO DO IT:
Next time you’re at the playground, try some of these tips:
Comment on their play (“You like the slide!” “Let’s go up!” “Whee!”)
Take turns (“My turn. Your turn.” “Let’s give this friend a turn.”)
Create pauses and give fill-in-the blank cues (“Ready, set, ___!”)
“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does ‘just for fun’ and things that are ‘educational.’ The child learns while living and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play.”
~ Penelope Leach
References:
Karen Stagnitti & Fiona M. Lewis (2015) Quality of pre-school children’s pretend play and subsequent development of semantic organization and narrative re-telling skills, International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17:2, 148-158, DOI: 10.3109/17549507.2014.941934
Kenneth R. Ginsburg, and the Committee on Communications, and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health; The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Pediatrics January 2007; 119 (1): 182–191. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2006-2697
Caroline K. P. Roben, Pamela M. Cole and Laura Marie Armstrong. Longitudinal Relations Among Language Skills, Anger Expression, and Regulatory Strategies in Early Childhood. Child Development, 20 DEC 2012 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12027
