Play is a universal phenomenon: children play everywhere.

Even young children talk about playing and their play. However, play is a phenomenon that is difficult to conceptualize unambiguously and comprehensively. However, expertise in play requires the ability to define play and the ability to be aware of how play constructs a child’s world and serves as a platform or goal for learning.

Play can be viewed as an intrinsic value and seen as the most important activity of childhood and therefore valuable in itself. Play is always a voluntary activity. It is an internally motivated, voluntary activity. Play is a way for a child to take control of their living world.

While playing, a child explores their environment, learns new things, and tries to share their play experiences with other children. Play is different from other everyday activities and sometimes becomes detached from reality, although the content of play often reflects the child’s everyday experiences.

Play becomes visible as an interaction between the child and the environment, in which the child influences his environment and the environment influences the child’s choices and actions. When the child feels safe, he is enthusiastic about exploring the possibilities of the environment and engages in play of his own choosing. The child draws his attention to elements of the environment that interest him and commits himself to the activities he has chosen. When playing and acting together, it is also important for the actors to distinguish when things are happening playfully and when they are really happening. The players must share the same play reality. The child needs skills in how to read other children’s non-verbal play cues or how to express play cues themselves.

Commitment to action is a prerequisite for learning new skills

Playfulness is brought to play by the child’s own internal motivation, the fun found in play, and the ability to detach from reality. Playful play is free and joyful in nature. It has no temporal or spatial boundaries, and despite the rules of play that are jointly constructed with friends, the outcome of the game is uncertain.

Play can be viewed as both an arena for learning skills needed in life and a place for learning play skills. Through play, children acquire and practice various skills and understand their own actions in relation to the world around them. Children practice skills by playing everyday life into reality and by transforming play events to test how their own actions affect the environment. The feedback received from the activity builds the child’s experience of themselves as actors – hopefully in a positive direction. The identity of the player is strengthened and through play stories the child learns to adapt their own actions in different situations. Players practice so-called adaptation skills, the mastery of which is later a prerequisite for self-direction and independent action.

Sometimes a child has challenges in learning skills, and play does not always go smoothly. In that case, you can learn to play together with adults. Of course, an adult is needed as an active participant in every child’s world of play. After all, Vygotsky once stated that a child is able to play and act at the upper limits of his or her skills in the company of a more skilled child or adult. Such situations always teach the child something new. The child needs models for his or her actions, but also a “coach” in practicing challenging skills.

According to play theories, the main stages of play development progress from exploring the environment through symbolic play to the world of imagination and eventually to the world of games with rules. Language development, imagination and thinking skills have been shown to have a clear connection in learning to play. Early symbolic play involves imitating simple daily tasks, e.g. a child drinking imaginary juice from an empty cup or covering a doll for sleep. Social learning is more complex, involving cooperative activities, but usually begins through play during the second year of life. Play stories become more diverse and longer as skills develop

A skilled educator uses the environment to limit or enrich a child’s play and to direct attention to activities that advance the play. The child can be given play cues, both verbal and nonverbal, and thus enticed into skill-developing activities and their own problem-solving.

The realization of children’s participation in various operating environments has been a topical discussion in recent years, especially in early childhood education and rehabilitation. Participation is built both on participation in everyday activities and, in particular, on the experience of belonging. A child’s participation is enabled not only by sufficient functional skills, but also by a positive perception of themselves as an actor and the opportunity to realize their own choices and interests. The importance of peers as enablers of participation becomes more important as the child grows.

A child’s participation and joining in play activities is possible when the child has sufficient skills to participate in meaningful activities and when the environment takes into account their initiatives and supports the child’s activities when necessary.

A sense of belonging is built through socially accepted activities. Play also trains the skills needed to become part of the social environment. Children themselves determine the rules with their friends to advance the game and break them to make it fun and advance the game. They seek their boundaries and build a shared reality. Children often know the limits of fun and bullying and are able to regulate their own actions in skillful play. However, remember that the child’s skills are not always sufficient for such complex activities that require judgment. When playing with friends is not successful, observe and assess the child’s play skills. Consider whether it is a lack of play skills, and specify what is challenging in the game and what is successful.

Tiina Lautamo, PhD, play expert