Here - Health Promotion Agency

3 Learning
and playing
What we call playing is really the way children learn. With toys
and their imaginations they practise all the skills they’ll need
as they grow up. The more they play, the more they learn,
and the best thing about it is that they love it.
P LAYING WITH YOU
Young children find it hard to play
alone. They need attention from
someone who can play with them.
Gradually they’ll learn to entertain
themselves for some of the time,
but first they need to learn how
to do that.
In the meantime, you can’t spend
all your time playing. You’ve other
things to do and other people to
attend to. Fortunately, children
learn from everything that’s going
on around them, and everything
they do. When you’re washing up,
your toddler can stand next to
you on a chair and wash the
saucepan lids; when you cook,
make sure your baby can see and talk
to you as you work.
The times when they’re not
learning much are the times
when they’re bored. That’s as true
for babies as of older children.
So what really matters?
• Find a lot of different things for
your child to look at, think about
and do (see Ideas for play on
pages 43–4).
•
Make what you’re doing fun and
interesting for your child, so you
can get it done.
• Make some time to give all your
attention to what your child
wants to do.
TOY SAFETY
• It is best to buy toys that
carry the British Standard
kitemark or the Lion mark,
or CE mark, as these
conform to safety standards.
•
Take care if you buy toys
from car boot sales or
market stalls or
secondhand toys as these
may not conform to safety
standards and could be
dangerous.
• Take safety measures such
as ‘Not suitable for a child
under 36 months’ seriously
(0–3 sign). This sign warns
that a toy is unsuitable
for a child under three
because of small parts.
• Check that the toy has
no sharp edges that could
hurt your child, or small
parts that your child
could put in his or her
mouth and choke on.
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