Playground Assessment Child Development

Question: Discuss about thePlayground Assessmentfor Child Development. Answer: Child development is an essential process in the early life of an individual. This is because it allows the child to experience social, physical, and emotional development that will determine the person he/she will be in the future. Therefore, it is essential that a child is introduced to positive development environments such as playgrounds that will give him/her an opportunity to play with equipment and other kids. Besides, the playground gives a child the chance to develop skills that will help him develop their cognitive, physical, and social life (Bokony, Patrick Fortney, 2017, p. 2). This essay will discuss three of the equipment found in the playgrounds of the two videos (The Press, 2015). Firstly, the discussion will examine the swings and their effect in the development of the child. Secondly, climbing equipment and the open space in the playground and their effects will be discussed respectively. Finally, the essay will discuss the theories related to the cognitive, physic al, and social development of a child using playground equipment. One of the playground equipment found in the video is the swing (Simple Fun Kidz, 2016). It is one of the primary playground equipment that can aid in the development of a child in many areas. One of the significant benefits of the swing is the development of the ability to have balance. Besides, it helps a child learn where his/her body is when in space. It also offers the child an opportunity to practice various valuable skills relating to the body and balance. The skills include fine motor skills that the child achieves when gripping the chains and ropes of the swings. It also teaches gross motor skills that the child can develop when pumping his legs to make the swing go higher. Most importantly, the child learns coordination. The coordination is achieved when the child tries to do both the gripping of the chains and pumping of the legs at the same time. Furthermore, the brain of the child gains more useful knowledge that can be applied in life. For instance, the brain of the chi ld can learn to judge the sense of speed and direction because of the swinging. The knowledge is essential because it can also help a child with visual perception problems. The horizontal ladder also offers the child an enjoyable and challenging play that also teaches various development skills at the same time (Simple Fun Kidz, 2016). Climbing involves the movement of the whole body from a lower position to a higher position. The action requires an awareness of several factors relating to the body and the various locations or positions in the climb. As such, the climbing teaches a child on how to make movement judgment and decisions. In this case, the child builds an awareness of where his body parts are and what to do with them to realize the movement. Besides, it helps a child in learning about directions such as up, down, forward, and back. It also equips a child with problem-solving skills as well as the prediction in that they can guess what will happen next (McMillan, 2017, p. 18). In the ladder climbing process, the child may ask himself several questions concerning the movement. For instance, questions the wonder about include where to put the left foot next and how to climb down the ladder? There are other many questions that a child can ask himself while playing with the ladders. The thinking helps the child develop flexible thinking skills that can assist the child in the playground and the class as well. The other important part of the playground is the space that allows room for free play. Free play consists of the things that children do while in the playground with other kids. It could be games that are organized or just running around the playground with other kids. This feature is important in the development of the child because it helps the child interact with other children in the playground. The free play helps a child to learn communication skills as they run around with other kids and families thus creating strong bonds (Milteer et al., 2011, para. 8). It also allows the child to practice vocabulary and conversation with other kids. The free play is essential because it helps a child learn paramount development skills. One of the important life skills that a child can learn is following rules. The child can learn this when they play games that require a person to meet certain requirements to either win or lose. However, it is important that adults allow children to play al one without giving them any rules since they might follow the rules set by adults leading to loss of the benefits of the play such as leadership, creativity, and group skills (Ginsburg, 2007, para. 4). The skills will make the child grow into a person that can follow the rules without any difficulty. Sharing is another life skill that a child can learn from free play when they use same equipment together (Goldstein, 2012, p. 6). The sharing ability will enable a child to grow into a person that can help other people that are in need of the items or skills they possess. Besides, they learn how to take turns take turns to ride bikes as seen in the video thus promoting empathy and compassion (Goldstein, 2012, p. 6). Development theories are essential because they help parent and guardian in monitoring the development and behavior of their children. One of the theories related to the development of a child is Erikson's stages of psychosocial development (Elena Deborah, 2015, p. 372). It gives a child the opportunity to explore his interpersonal skills by initiating activities since play is main activity of children in the initiative vs. guilt stage. Besides, it gives the child a sense of action and makes him feel secure in his ability to lead other kids and make decisions (Benefits for Early Years of Learning Outside the Classroom, 2010, p. 1). The theory can be realized when children participate in the free play. The second theory that is related to the cognitive development of the child is the planes of development. According to the theory, the child that is in the second plane of development has mastered most of the basic human skills such as coordination in movement, developed personality, f luent speech, and basics intelligence (as cited in Trawick-Smith, 2014, p. 19). At this stage, the child learns through imagination, reasoning, and logic in exploring. The learning in this phase can be seen when the child moves up and down a ladder by moving the feet and hands at the right time and in the right direction. The other theory related to the development of a child is Lev Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory. The theory is based on the belief that a child learns actively and through hands-on experiences. This is the same belief in other theories like Piagets theory of Cognitive development. It is important that parents and guardians take active roles in supporting the development of their children. As such, they should take them playgrounds to allow them to play with playground equipment and other kids. One of the common playground equipment that plays key roles in the development of a child is the swing. The swing helps a child to develop fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and coordination. The ladder is the second equipment that helps in developing the reasoning and problem-solving skills of a child. The third important area in the playground is the space that facilitates the free play of children. The theories that relate to the development of children and playground equipment are Eriksons stages of psychosocial development, planes of development, and Lev Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory. The theories explain the development of the child in regards to playground equipment thus making the participation of a child in the playground an essential activity. References Benefits for Early Years of Learning Outside the Classroom. (2010) (1st ed.). Retrieved from https://www.lotc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Benefits-for-Early-Years-LOtC-Final-5AUG09.pdf Bokony, P., Patrick, T., Fortney, S. (2017). What the Experts Say: Play (1st ed.). Arkansas: UAMS Division of Health Services Research. Retrieved from https://ecep.uark.edu/_resources/pdf_other/pre-k_sel/wes-play.pdf Elena, B., Deborah J., L. (2015). Vygotskian and Post-Vygotskian Views on Childrens Play. American Journal Of Play, 7(3). Ginsburg, K. (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. PEDIATRICS, 119(1), 182-191. https://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697 Goldstein, J. (2012). Play in childrens development, health and well-being (1st ed.). Toy Industries of Europe. Retrieved from https://www.ornes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Play-in-children-s-development-health-and-well-being-feb-2012.pdf McMillan, M. (2017). Outdoor Play Matters: The Benefits of Outdoor Play for Young Children (1st ed.). Barnardos. Retrieved from https://www.galwaychildcare.com/uploadedfiles/Outdoor_Play_Matters.pdf Milteer, R., Ginsburg, K., Mulligan, D. (2011). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bond: Focus on Children in Poverty. PEDIATRICS, 129(1), e204-e213. https://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2953 Simple Fun Kidz. (2016). Outdoor Playground Fun For Kids with Toddler Bike Town. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRdMFA8BspIfeature=youtu.be The Press. (2015). Multimillion-dollar Margaret Mahy playground open for fun in Christchurch. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/75357812/multimillion-dollar-margaret-mahy-playground-open-for-fun-in-christchurch Trawick-Smith, J. (2014). The Physical Play and Motor Development of Young Children: A Review of Literature and Implications for Practice (1st ed.). Connecticut: Center for early childhood education. Retrieved from https://www.easternct.edu/cece/files/2014/06/BenefitsOfPlay_LitReview.pdf