When we think about play, it can often be misunderstood as something that is not beneficial. Especially when it comes to children and their ability to learn through play. According to Play at the Center of the Curriculum, play is defined as an expression of the child's developing personality, sense of self, intellect, social ability, and physicality (Van Hoorn 2015). When you focus on play in a learning curriculum, there can be many benefits for children, including developing social and emotional skills, encouraging language skills, and creativity and imagination. Children develop their social and emotional skills very early in life, unless they experience a traumatic event that may deter them from developing those important skills. When a child has a loving and rewarding relationship with their parents or guardians early on, they improve the social-emotional skills needed to succeed in life. I believe it is important to observe children playing alone because you can learn a lot by watching them. The preschool, kindergarten and primary school years are key times when children demonstrate how resilient they are. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay According to Mead, during the play phase, these early years provide children with context and the opportunity to see themselves as unique from others. (Libra 2015). When children are allowed to lead their own play, it allows them to take the skills they have developed so far in their lives and use them to their advantage. This links to the benefit of promoting their creativity and imagination. There are so many ways to help children develop critical thinking skills and really foster their creativity. Some activities to help children develop these creative skills through play include painting, putting on costumes or playing with play dough. In the simplest terms, allow children to make a mess. As crazy as it may seem, children should have the freedom to create and foster their imaginative abilities. “Parents today often think that if they leave their children too much free time they are wasting opportunities for children to learn and prepare for their future. But these types of parenting choices, while made with love and the best intentions, are not a gift to children, according to current theories and research on child development. Children today desperately need time and space to develop their creative imaginations free from adult agendas” (Child Time 2017). These types of activities go hand in hand with the dramatic play phase in Piaget's theory of play development. “The game involves the creation of imaginary roles and situations and often accompanies the construction of pretend objects, but the representation is more abstract” (Alward 2015). When a child experiences a traumatic event, it can be extremely difficult for them to open up but observing them through play can be very helpful when trying to learn about what they have been through. In The Boy Who Was Raised Like a Dog, by Dr. Bruce Perry, he tells the story of a period in his career in which he worked with a young girl who had been sexually abused for many years by her mother's boyfriends and, One of the ways he got her to open up about what she went through was by allowing her to spend their time together through play. He would get out some blank paper and crayons and let her do whatever she wanted. This made her feel comfortable enough to open up to him about hers.