My baby food games

"Don't play with your food!" In childhood, this phrase is often repeated to children as a mantra by parents trying to teach good table manners. nine0005

But mom and dad forget that breaking the rules of adult etiquette will help achieve their cherished goal: to make children willingly eat those foods that really do not attract kids, vegetables and fruits in the first place, especially if they are green.

Food is a game.

However, touching food, smelling it, handling it, in short, all the games associated with eating, and its entire context of cooking, shopping and accessories, has an important educational value for children. nine0005

A child learns this world through play. What seems like adult pampering is for children to explore the space around. Therefore, do not scold for games with food at the table.

Moreover, the above does not negate the fact of learning the rules of good behavior at the table. It's just that the child must go through all the phases of development, and you should not miss the period when the food flies to the floor, in the face, and also crumples, licks, warms up, etc. This is a messy stage, but an important one in a child's development.

Importance of play in child development

Play is an important aspect of a child's life. Play is a spontaneous activity of the child, from which he gets pleasure, satisfaction and entertainment. Whereas in the past play was considered an aimless pastime, a sort of distraction from more important pursuits such as study or work, beginning in the nineteenth century and particularly during the twentieth century, various scholars instead began to emphasize the importance of play in the development of the child. nine0005

Play is closely related to the child's learning and healthy growth. The importance of the game is such that even the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent in Article 31 recognizes the child's right not only to rest and leisure, but also to games and recreational activities.

Play functions

Play activity is now unanimously considered fundamental to the emotional, cognitive, motor and relational development of the child. With the help of the game the child:

— learns and strengthens his communication skills; nine0005

- aware of the existence of rules - many games, especially group games, require the observance of certain rules - learns to use them, understand their meaning and the need to resort to them;

- establishes a particularly fruitful exchange with external reality and with other individuals; a spontaneous and joyful transfer of knowledge, skills, techniques and skills is created;

- develops the ability to control one's emotions;

— learn how to program and make projects; cognize external reality and relate to it, endow the surrounding world with meaning and understanding; nine0005

- learn to communicate with others and establish active, constructive, meaningful relationships;

- develop your own creative abilities.

The role of play in child development. Opinions of educators

Many scientists, including anthropologists, educators, philosophers and psychologists, have worked to understand how play activities relate to child development. Several theories have been formulated regarding this.

Game: the most authentic expression of creativity

Friedrich Fröbel considered play to be a determining factor in a child's development. In his pedagogical activity, he considered the game not as a form of leisure or entertainment, but as a means by which the child learned to interact with other personalities and with external reality.

Play is also considered the most authentic creative expression and source of learning: through play, the child learns about shapes and their properties, as well as about numbers, in a spontaneous and natural way. In the schools he founded, kindergartens, he provided his students with some games, geometric solids used as teaching aids. For example, Wooden Froebel Cubes. nine0005

Spencer and excess energy

The evolutionist Herbert Spencer stated that the game covers the function of consuming those energies that an evolved being, such as man, no longer burns up in the struggle for survival. Thus, play is a functional response to an excess of energy that must be released instinctively.

Karl Gross and the game as a preliminary exercise

Karl Gross interpreted the game as a kind of "pre-training", that is, preparation for adulthood. With play, a need considered innate, the child acquires increasingly complex skills and thought patterns necessary to lead an independent life. The game also allows you to develop your personality, especially in its instinctive dimensions. nine0005

Freud and the doctrine of the connection between play and the psyche

Sigmund Freud specifically investigated the connection between play and the child's psyche. The game allows you to throw out emotions and at the same time control them. Freud also noted that children tend to invent games that involve identification with what they love or fear. In both cases, the child can explore the emotional reality, get to know it better, and learn to dominate it.

Huizinga and play as the basis of culture

Historian and linguist Johan Huizinga considered the game as the basis of culture and human life organized in society. In his text Homo ludens, published in 1938, he emphasizes that play is one of the most authentic testimonies of creativity.

Piaget and the stage theory

Educator Jean Piaget assigns an important role mainly to the cognitive development of the child. The theory of development, which this teacher adheres to, is stadial: the child grows up, overcoming a series of stages. In the same way, play changes its form as the child grows. nine0005

At the first stage, the child plays exercise games (for example, pouring water, clapping hands), then symbolic games follow (based on the child's ability to imagine, "pretending"), finally, games of rules (necessary for socialization, these are games ), which require compliance with a number of conventions and norms. The game, according to Piaget, allows the child to consolidate already acquired skills and at the same time to realize their possibilities of influencing external reality.

Vygotsky and the theory of the zone of proximal development

Lev Vygotsky is one of the teachers who most insist on the development of the child not only from the cognitive, but also from the emotional and social points of view. Play is also of paramount importance because it underlies the zone of proximal development, Vygotsky's fundamental theory of thought, by which we mean development that can occur through the intervention of others and that closes the gap between one's own development and the possibilities of its development.

In addition, by playing, the child can learn from those who have more skills, and thus expand their own knowledge and skills. Through play, the child can respond to his needs and give new meaning to his surroundings. nine0005

Four categories of play Caillois

Roger Caillois in his text "Games and Men" defines four main categories of games, which correspond to many tendencies of the human psyche.

1. Competitive games (eg tournaments or sporting events).
2. Games built on chance, on an "attempt of fate" (dice game, heads or tails, lotteries).
3. Games based on pretense and mimicry (dress-up games, games with dolls, or in general all games in which children imitate adults). nine0102

4. Games in which there is a challenge to danger, even fear that it can be mastered (carousels or swings).

Paidiya and ludus

All games move between two opposites: on the one hand, paydia (improvisation, lack of rules and restrictions, fun) and ludus (rules and effort).

Winnicott and games that allow the child to become aware of himself

Donald Winnicott, a pediatrician and psychoanalyst, studied the development of the child and the various phases that distinguish him, starting with the degree of dependence of the child on the parent. He emphasized how the game allows the child to become aware of himself and through creativity to learn to know himself. nine0005

Play helps the child grow and communicate with others. Winnicott, defining his theory of play, called transitional objects all those objects from which the child draws security (for example, a blanket, soft toy) and at the same time allows him to develop detachment from the main educator, usually from the mother, gradually and not traumatically. .

Montessori and the freedom of the child

It is important to Maria Montessori that the child moves, plays and learns in a suitable, calm environment appropriate to his age and his needs. In the kindergarten she founded, Casa dei bambini, everything was really suitable for children. According to Montessori, the priority was to allow the child to gradually become independent and enjoy their freedom. The child had at his disposal and could freely choose among the materials that Montessori considered most suitable for creating incentives for constructive and educational activities. nine0005

Why is it difficult for adults to play with children?

It has been noticed that modern parents almost never play with their children. Perhaps this is due to their childhood, when a little mom or dad was forbidden to have too much fun, play noisily and be noticeable. Since most adults who are about 30-40-50 years old had a difficult childhood in which our parents simply survived. Children played the role of small adults who played either quiet games or loud ones, but away from adults. nine0005

We don't have an example of playing with adults, so it's hard to play with your kids right now. Someone in this situation advises to talk to your inner child and allow him to be small, to allow him to be playful and funny.

It is also possible that children's games are not interesting for adults, when it is difficult to fantasize or drive a car for a couple of hours. Therefore, the rule of 10-15 minutes helps, sometimes this time is enough for the child to understand that the parent is nearby, he plays with him. The rest of the time you can leave the baby for independent games. nine0005

Also once heard advice, if it is not interesting to play with a child, then it is worth analyzing what is interesting to me personally, for example, reading, educational games, board games, etc. But my husband loves pampering and willingly plays active games with them on walks, and my grandmother can drive the car for hours on an impromptu track. Here is the division of games with the child. Everyone is happy, the kid understands that mom can drive cars, but not for a shorter period of time, but with grandma you can do this for a long time and with imagination. nine0005

You can also carefully plan your food game , but let the situation take its course in the beginning, so as not to be disappointed if everything goes wrong. Children are unpredictable, their hysteria is possible from scratch, the child may not be ready to play right now. I have some games waiting for years. Photos of playing with food, expecting a second child and his 5th birthday. So if you can’t play one game, then you should look for another.

Another piece of advice, don't spend big money on these games. There is the Internet, and free templates, as well as Avito, we also remember about discounts and improvised means. Sometimes you can show your imagination and collect food games in the kitchen from adult supplies. nine0005

How to understand if a child is playing or indulging?

The line between play and pampering is very thin, not every parent can trace it. It is important to stop overindulgence, but encourage play. So how to understand this line?

Quite simply, if a parent watches the baby perform an activity in a relaxed, orderly manner, with a serious and focused look, it is most likely that he is working/playing. Let me remind you that in the Montessori upbringing methodology, children do not play, but work. nine0012 If, on the other hand, he behaves erratically, mishandles objects, and is easily distracted, he may not be at work and needs help finding creative activities to put his energy into. In this case, suggesting another activity might be a great idea.