“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood”
-Fred Rogers
Have you ever watched a baby play? They engage with their toys with a determination as if it is their job. Actually, it is their job!
As babies their job is to play to learn about their world, and this begins very early. From the first moments of life—even before birth—babies are absorbing, exploring, and making sense of the world around them. Many parents are amazed to learn that learning doesn’t start in the toddler years or even at birth—it begins in the womb. Long before they take their first steps or say their first words, babies are already listening, observing, and forming connections in their brain that lay the foundation for future learning.
As a pediatric occupational therapist, practicing in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), I see this every day as I work with babies who should not even have been born yet. As soon as I open the window of the incubator, babies turn their head towards me, attempt to focus their eyes on me, become still at the sound of my voice and begin to observe their environment.
Taking In the World
Observation is the earliest form of exploration. Ultrasound technicians note that babies respond to mommy’s voice in utero by moving less, sucking, and opening their mouth when their mommy speaks to them. Research shows that babies even begin to learn words to nursery rhymes by 34 weeks gestation as they demonstrate familiarity to these nursery rhymes after they are born. Babies first “occupation” is play. Unfortunately, early childhood classrooms focused on school readiness outcomes often overlook the importance of play.
During the first few years, babies take in new information and learn through all of their senses; sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch. By providing babies plenty of opportunities to use their senses, we are helping them to explore and learn. What better way to explore than through play?
As children play with toys and objects, they often bring them to their mouth to explore their taste, they watch intently to understand how things work, and they love to touch to learn about texture and how things move. These sensory experiences enhance understanding and cognitive growth in babies. Eventually as this hands-on exploration turns into play, babies and young children begin to learn cause and effect, critical thinking, motor skills, self-control, and problem-solving skills that will provide a foundation for a lifetime of new learning.
New Experiences and Understanding
Babies begin to learn cause and effect as early as four months and understanding that they can control their environment helps them to have agency and build on their play skills for new learning. Toys such as bootie rattles, wrist rattles, and simple light up toys or toys that make sounds are great for babies to learn cause and effect. When a toy requires an action to provide a response, it is a great toy for teaching new skills. Toddlers can reinforce their understanding of cause and effect from pop up toys, musical instruments, marble runs and bathtub toys that squirt water.
Young children move through several different phases of play as they mature and the different phases provide different learning opportunities. They begin by learning through isolated play where they play by themselves with support and encouragement from a parent. They may repetitively shake a rattle, bat at a toy with their hand or bang toys together to learn about the sound they make, how they feel in their hands and what happens when they manipulate it in different ways.
They then move into parallel play where they play side-by-side with another child. Sometimes they are observing the other child, learning what the other child does and copying their actions in their play, but not really engaging with each other yet. After parallel play, children develop the social skills to engage in cooperative play where they begin to interact with other children through play, learning important social skills that will prepare them for kindergarten.
There are different types of play that contribute to unique learning opportunities as well; free play, structured play, social play, imaginative play, and risky play are some of the more common types. Free play or child-directed play is important for building imagination and creativity. Just like it sounds, children dictate this type of play and make up the rules as they go. During structured play, children often have the opportunity to learn higher-level skills because structured play is guided by a parent or teacher and the concepts are more complex.
Free Play and Structured Play
Children need a mix of both free play and structured play to optimize learning opportunities. During social play, children interact with other children and this helps them to develop communication and group problem solving skills, but also the ever-important cooperation skills that are integral in turn-taking, having the patience to wait for their turn, and sharing.
These are the soft skills so necessary for success in kindergarten and they only come with practice. Imaginative play allows children to boost their creativity and provide a foundation for abstract thinking and problem solving while physical play builds motor skills, risk taking, resilience, and problem-solving. Risky play allows children to encounter potentially risky situations such as climbing a tree. Risky play ignites a sense of adventure and exploration and is great for teaching confidence and higher-level problem-solving.
Different types of toys are important in building specific skills. Books, games, puppets and dress-up encourage story-telling, conversation and the building of the child’s vocabulary. This provides a foundation for language and literacy. Puzzles, blocks, and other construction materials such as LEGOs and Magnatiles encourage mathematical thinking, shapes, and simple engineering concepts.
Sensory play such as water play encourages math and science skills as well, especially if parents structure play to include measuring cups and spoons. Sensory play also includes playing in dirt, sand, rice, cooked pasta, shaving cream, finger paint, clay, snow, slime and many other substances that encourage hands-on exploration. This type of play helps to connect brain cells to increase learning as children are constantly processing feeling, temperature, and textures. Musical instruments are great for teaching motor skills, rhythm (which is an early math skill) and creativity. Musical toys are also great for promoting cooperation and social interaction with other children.
The Foundation of Success
These early play experiences contribute to kindergarten readiness and success later in school because they provide a foundation for curiosity and the desire to learn while teaching basic skills necessary for academics and literacy.
Play is not just important in early learning, play is integral to the optimal school day as well. Play during school encourages learning and social interaction as well as provides an outlet for children to relax and experience unstructured time.
The National Institute for Play (NIFP) links a lack of play to health risks in children. Their 2024 report, “The Power of Play”, highlights play’s role in fostering compassion, cooperation and creativity. Unfortunately, according to the Fundamentally Children and the Genius of Play report in 2019, 75% of children under 12 do not get enough active, free play. Their study surveyed 840 parents and found that 68% of children aged five to eight lack sufficient pretend play to build social and emotional development. There is a definite need for policies and practices that prioritize play in early learning and elementary school.
