Playing is an essential factor for your child’s development. This is especially true for children under five years old, their brains are still under development, and their mental, emotional, and social skills still need to be furnished and stimulated. One way to encourage your children with more chances of playtime is by joining playgroups. A playgroup is when families, parents, or caregivers gather together to let their toddlers and young kids play and learn together at the same time.
While kids get to play more through playgroups, parents and caregivers also get an opportunity to interact and learn from each other, which could help improve their parenting skills as well as learn more about their child’s needs. To help you and your child join playgroups, you can look up playgroup vacancies on the internet or within your community and see if you can find one suitable for your child.
Here are five ways joining a playgroup can help your child’s development:
1) Develop Their Social Skills
Children start to develop their social skills at the age of one to three. But even with this bracket, every child will still have their unique approach towards stimulating and developing [their social skills]. Some children may be social butterflies even at a young age while some may still prefer to play alone, in which both cases are okay.
Through playgroups, you’re giving your child a chance to develop their social skills by interacting with other kids. While they’re with others, you’re also letting them experience what it’s like to share toys with others, negotiate, and resolve conflict in case kids’ fight arises.
2) Boost Their Emotional Confidence
Before playgroups, the child’s emotional confidence should first be established at home; and the best way to develop their emotional confidence is by fostering great relationships within the family. Solid family relationships will make your child feel a sense of stability, attachment, and belongingness.
Meanwhile, once you and your child join playgroups, you’re letting your child meet and develop relationships with other kids and adults. This shared experience will help your child build and boost their confidence as you’re encouraging them to be emotionally independent at such an early age.
3) Encourage Physical Activity
Playgroups are all about playing, which means you can expect just about any games these kids can think of. It can be running, twirling, swinging, climbing, painting, jumping, molding play dough, and more. With a spacious play space, children’s toys, and several entertainment sources available around, you can guarantee that your child will be physically active when at playgroup.
Playgroups provide plenty of age-appropriate activities and games for your kids, which are primarily aimed at developing their motor skills. Moreover, you don’t need to worry if your child is more interested in playing with less vigorous activities like molding playdough, painting, or puzzling.
4) Stimulate Creativity and Imagination
To help stimulate your child’s inner creativity and imagination, you need to allow them to play in an unstructured way. In a playgroup, you’re giving your child a chance to play anything according to their creativity and imagination. Children can play dress-up games, roleplay scenarios, create stories through dolls, and more.
Letting them play by their own rules and stories allows them to think creatively and explore ideas from their own minds. Remember, a person’s imagination and creativity are very important to succeed in their professional and personal lives.
5) Teach Them About Adapting and Coping with Changes
Sooner or later, your babies and toddlers will need to attend school. Going to school for the first time can be overwhelming, scary, and nerve-wracking for them. It’s in school where you first leave them to navigate on their own. To help them cope with this new situation and adapt to this milestone in their lives, you can let your child join playgroups.
Through playgroups, you’re encouraging your child to become independent and start making friends and relationships while you’re supervising and supporting on the side. Once they get over the fear of being separated from their parent or caregiver and become more accustomed to social life, attending school will soon be an easy and manageable change.
Key Takeaways
Overall, joining a playground is an excellent way for your children to make friends, enhance their social skills, promote imagination and creativity, and prepare them for the real world. As a parent, you also get a chance to interact with other parents or caregivers and share knowledge. So, go ahead and sign your kids up for any playground vacancies.
