What is play and why is it so important?

WHAT IS PLAY AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

At dinnertime, your 6-month-old prefers grabbing the spoon to eating. When you unload the dishwasher, your 20-month-old wants to put the silverware away. In both situations, your child is pursuing what he does best: playing. Play is monumentally important to all aspects of child development -- it's how children of all ages learn. "I always tell parents, if you could see inside your child's brain you'd notice that every time he plays, connections are being made," says Roni Leiderman, PhD, coauthor of Gymboree Play and Learn: 1001 Fun Activities for Your Baby and Child.

As babies approach their first birthday, brain development and advances in motor skills (especially with their hands) fuel the next level of play. The senses are still important, of course. But instead of just wanting to know How does it feel, sound, and taste? they also want to know What happens if I drop it? What reaction will I get? If I do the same thing twice, will the exact same thing happen again? As your baby experiments with banging, throwing, and dropping, she's absorbing lessons in cause and effect. When she does something like knock over a tower of blocks she's just built, this is an important "aha!" moment. She realizes she can make things happen, and that delivers a strong message of empowerment and independence. For a child who has spent most of her life being carried around and told where she's going to sit and when she's going to nap, this is incredibly exciting. Suddenly, she has some control over her environment. She can choose where things will go. And she will conduct the same experiments over and over again. "Repetition gives children an opportunity to practice, and every time they do something they get better at it," says Betty Bordner, early childhood educator at the Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, New York.

Play Activities: Birth to 6 Months

• Rub baby's arms and legs with different fabrics such as satin and flannel.

• Faces fascinate babies. Place a mirror near baby's changing table, or draw faces on paper plates for baby.

Play Activities: 7 to 12 Months

• Create a crawling obstacle course out of different-size pillows.

• Place a favorite toy under a blanket, and encourage your baby to find it.

• Give baby a spoon and a pot, and let him bang away.

Play Activities: 1 to 2 Years

• Take your toddler on a nature walk. Let him fill a pail with the leaves, twigs, and pinecones he sees along the way.

• Create a photo album with portraits of people he loves or different animals, vehicles, or foods. Then encourage him to name each one.

Play Activities: 2 to 3 Years

• Children this age love to jump, climb, throw, run, dance, and do somersaults.

• Building block towers -- the taller the better -- is a favorite pursuit.

• Pretend play becomes a very important and common activity.