Why is Play the best medium to learn to communicate (use my language functionally)?

Many parents come up saying that we only want our child to talk. He has ample time to play at home. He has lots of toys at home. Is it important to include play? Let’s focus on talking, since he doesn’t talk. My conversation with parents is many times about explaining to them WHY PLAY? Children learn to functionally use the language that they have through play. 

PLAY becomes the content of our conversations. The joyful experiences while playing facilitate the building of joint attention, and the emotion of joy facilitates child’s intent to communicate with the play partner very naturally.

Also then it becomes crucial to see how is the child playing? Is it meaningful play or the child keeps himself busy seeking sensory stimulation with toys, and we at times label it as playing. Are his actions repetitive with toys? Is it silent play or does he use language including sounds and words while he is playing? For example, if a child is playing with car, he migh just say--- here goes my car, zoom. Oops there is so much traffic, move away, beep beep! Let me speed up. I have to reach the park fast. ZOOOOOOM!! Or is it silent play of one kind every time I take out the car?

Through these sessions, child learns to communicate and uses his language by using play as a medium. We learn to communicate through play, and then we learn to play increasing the range of toys we can play with, how we can play with one toy in multiple ways, (expanding the imagination and creativity) and a number of people we can interact and play with etc. The expansion of play is on the social and cognitive continuum of play. 

Play can be used with all age groups from toddlers to young adolescents and even older children. The level of play gets complex depending upon where the child is on the stages of play.

Using play, purposes of communication expand beyond need based communication. Child learns to ask for more of what he likes, say no to things s/he does not like, sustaining on a task for longer/ joint attention with play partner/ share his emotion of joy, frustration, anger, excitement and even being ok, ask for permission, sharing information/ sharing space and things etc. Spontaneity in actions while playing breaks rigidities and routines making the child more flexible and confident of himself.

Lets Play!!

Lets have some fun!!

Lets Learn