(Guilherme Jofili / Flickr)

Here’s a piece I wrote for Earlychildhood News on child development through play:

During the early stages of our country, child’s play was considered a waste of time. Little thought was given to the importance that play contributed to the developing child. For the last few decades educators and researchers have been fascinated with how children play. Parten’s Play Theory of 1932, Piaget of 1962 and Piaget and Inhelder of 1969 share different opinions, yet hold to common truths. Those who study the developmentally appropriate activities of children realize that play should begin early in life. And parents must provide opportunities for children to play and to learn from observations and actions as well as from being told.

Paula Brownyard, M.Ed., and Head of the School of Education, Lambuth University says, “Play teaches children to make friends. Without this interaction with others, they fail to develop social skills. And without appropriate social skills, children may become angry and act out. When this happens, other children avoid them.”

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Carolyn Tomlin is a Jackson, Tennessee-based author that has been writing and publishing since 1988. She has authored 19 books and more than 4,000 articles in magazines such as Entrepreneur, Kansas City Star, American Profile, Tennessee Home & Farm, Home Life, Mature Living, ParentLife and many others.  You can purchase her full-length works here.