The pleasure for the game is present from the first weeks of life and goes hand in hand with psychophysical development. Observing the changes that take place in this area is an exciting experience for the adult who takes care of the child
Throughout childhood, the pleasure for play and learning are closely intertwined. Like a “grass scientist”, the child is intrigued by the world around him: he explores him and feels satisfaction while he learns the characteristics, the implications, the cause-effect relationships. Let’s see step by step what these “discoveries” are.
Let’s start playing
The first playmate of a newborn is the mother: already six weeks after the birth of the baby, their lively exchange includes mutual looking at each other, listening to each other, vocalizations and physical movement. At 10 weeks of life, the baby can grab a bar and make his eyes converge on a colored ball, even if he cannot yet coordinate eyes and hands. At 12 weeks, in a prone position, with his head raised and leaning on the forearms, here he is scratched the carpet on which he is lying down and observing with great interest the movements of his fingers and the noise they provoked. At the same time, comes into contact with the characteristics of the physical space that surrounds it and begins to build a map of the territory. If he is given a handy toy, for example a sonaglio or a wooden spoon, he can tighten him and get him closer to the face, sometimes by storing himself. It still has difficulty controlling the head, neck and muscles of the eyes, however it manages to have a “static” grip.
The first months
Around 18-20 weeks of life the child can reach and grasp a sonaglio, shake it to hear the noise and observe it carefully and with prolonged looks. He still can’t put it precisely, but he can keep him for a while in his hands and then let him fall. At 6 months the progress in neuromuscular control allow him to stretch his hand and maintain the taking of any object within the reach of his arms, and since in the meantime he has also discovered that he has his feet, he often plays us, also using them as auxiliary prehensile appendages (to grab some objects). Around 7 months he begins to appreciate the advantage of having two handswhich allows him to pass an object from one hand to another with considerable satisfaction.
Between 9 and 11 months
Between 9 and 11 months the child becomes aware of the “permanence of objects”. For example, he can raise a pillow in search of an object that has previously been hidden in half (leaving a visible part) under his eyes, and from there to 2-3 weeks he will do the same thing in search of a completely hidden toy.
On the street you protrude on the side of the wheelchair to follow an object that falls or bounces with your gaze. It begins to launch toys both for the pleasure of motor action and for the curiosity to see and hear the sequence of events that occur when the objects fall, roll, bounce, stop or break. It enjoys provoking noises and, at the same time, tactile sensations that feels when it beats and slides on hard surfaces and smooth solid objects such as cubes, bells or domestic tools.
At this age, moreover, he carefully looks at a new object before grabbing him, as if he wanted to evaluate his quality. In this regard, It is good to remember that the baby prefers to focus on one object at a time, manipulating it carefully; We therefore avoid presenting various objects at the same time, with the result of confusing him and depriving him of the pleasure of exploring according to his times.
Shortly thereafter, by imitation or followed by a personal discovery, it can, to have fun and to expand his knowledge, combine two objects or beat them together (for example two spoons of wood). It should be noted that on this aspect the females appear more early than the males who, on the other hand, in this period of growth can manifest more energetic locomotor initiatives than those of girls.
Between 12 and 18 months
All the children, when carponi begin to move, explore the domestic environment and seek the proximity of someone to play with, to exchange objects, approach them, throw them.
Around 12-15 months the child is very interested in the relationship between container and content. We will then see him committed to removing and putting things in the basket of the paper, but also in a cup, in a bag. Driven by curiosity, he looks inside the boxes, the wardrobes, the drawers to find, manipulate, smell and hear the flavor of the objects which then shows triumphantly to those around him. Furthermore, between 12 and 18 months he loves to experience the synchronization between noise and act of hitting, and tears the card to enjoy the simultaneous tactile, auditory and visual sensations that obtains through this activity.
When he starts walking, he likes to drag objects with a rope but also pushing or pulling others with wheels in a precise direction; He uses the wagons of his train to transport a large amount of objects from one place to another, deliberately increasing the weight and complexity of loads as well as their volume, and proves interest in the typical toys of his age but also (a lot) for everyday objects such as pots, shopping bags, brushes, buckets, garden tools and so on.
As for communication, at this stage the child is able to express his needs and feelings through a mixture of large expressive gestures, high vocalizations and a repertoire in continuous expansion of individual words. He then shows an interest and growing pleasure in pronouncing the name of the people he knows and also of the objects he sees in photography.
Selfishness? No, self -centeredness
From the first months of life, the child includes that the attention he receives from adults are moved by intentions and that the same does not happen in the case of objects. Consequently, the other small children, who are not yet guided by intentions and therefore do not show it towards him, are often treated more as objects than as people. That is It is not an indicator of selfishness but of a typical “self -centeredness” of this age, an attitude that allows the child to see some aspects of the world but not others.
In general, observing the progressive sequence of these changes is an exciting experience both for parents and for a nest educator.
