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There has been, in the past, no agreement on how important play is to the development of an individual. Some critics have argued that play is trivial and non-essential; however many theorists of play have identified a relatively large number of benefits that play has on an individual’s development. “From Ancient Greece to present day America, from Eurasia to the Pacific, [people have found] the many values of play being extolled” (Grey, 1964: 183). Play, defined by Bettleheim (1987, cited McArdle 2001), refers to “a child’s activities characterised by freedom from all but personally imposed rules (changed at will); by free-wheeling fantasy involvement; and by the absence of goals outside the activity.” Three benefits will be discussed in relation to play: physical, social and cognitive benefits, proving that play does in fact have a beneficial effect on a child’s development.
Play is one of the chief contributing agencies for the development of an individual to perfect health (Wood, 1973). After heredity, food, air, sunlight, adequate rest and preventative hygiene, it is activity that stimulates the organism and creates a favourable condition for its development. Play - that is those spontaneous activities of childhood requiring little sustained attention, as well as games and sports of youth (Mitchell and Mason, 1948) - has been described as being very effective for developing an ideal physical condition. This is attributable to the fact that play involves fundamental movements of physical exercise, such as walking, running, jumping, throwing, and climbing etc.
As play has been proven to be a physical activity, there can be no question on the point that muscles are directly developed by play. Muscles perform a very important part in an individual’s physical health, as they utilise energy to produce movement, increase our metabolic rate, and function as shock absorbers and important balancing agents throughout our body. ... (Brotherton and Mudie, 2000) It can therefore be stated that play – with its muscle-strengthening role – provides physical benefits to individuals.
The physical exercise gained from play also ”has a significant contribution to the development and general health of the organs of the body” (Mitchell and Mason, 1948: 223) such as the circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, and excretory system.
Approximate Word count = 1818
Approximate Pages = 7.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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