The Genius of Play | Develop Social Skills (2024)

FAQs

How can social skills be developed through play? ›

Social play

They play shop and figure out who will play what role. They can work together to build something or maybe play a simple game together. This is really where a child learns and practices social skills, like cooperating, being flexible, taking turns, and solving problems.

Act out and make sense of real-life situations. Explore, investigate and experiment. Develop their social skills, as they collaborate with others. Learn to empathise with others, as taking on the role of a character which help them to learn empathy and understanding of different perspectives.

Through play, children improve cognitive functioning, build physical skills, learn how to deal with their emotions, and discover how to socialize with other kids. These are just a few examples of the genius of play!

Social play helps to develop emotional intelligence and empathy. which are just as important in later life as academic intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the key to forming good relationships with others, relationships which are vital to both personal and professional success later in life.

Children first learn social skills by watching how parents and family members behave with each other. Children copy what others do and what they say as they interact with each other.

Social development: Playing with others means noticing social cues, listening, and taking another person's perspective — key aspects to developing empathy. Social play also requires children to share ideas and express feelings while negotiating and reaching compromises.

Kids will typically create a scenario in which they pretend to be someone or something else. For example, they might play house and take on the roles of parents, become a doctor, veterinarian, teacher, or cashier. Each of these situations allows them to explore different social skills activities.

Set up a café scenario in your role-play area and teach children how they should act in a café. Children will learn social skills about how to order food from a café, as well as how they should act. Children may even learn some new vocabulary!

TheGeniusofPlay.org is a leading resource on the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of play. We have developed quick play ideas and activities to do with children any time, any day. The Genius of Play^™ also has an expert community from all over the world.

What are the 5 benefits of play? ›

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them.

Through play, children can express their feelings and learn to cope with emotions such as sadness, anger, and fear. Play can also help children develop social skills such as sharing, cooperation, and communication.

Social play behaviour is a highly energetic and rewarding activity that is of great importance for the development of brain and behaviour. Social play is abundant during the juvenile and early adolescent phases of life, and it occurs in most mammalian species, as well as in certain birds and reptiles.

Through play, children learn to cooperate and to display socially appropriate behaviour. Pretense bolsters children's social competence by allowing children to self-regulate, to cope with stress, and to talk about emotions.

This helps to develop and enhance social skills such as communication, turn taking and decision making, sharing, and on occasions, planning out a sequence of events. It also helps to foster empathy and build friendships - allowing children to learn to take into consideration other people's points of view.

Advantages of Role Play

In any type of social work intervention, one of the goals is to engage the client and help them gain insight into their problem or behavior dynamic.