Play and its role in the mental development of the child

Illness, medical norms and protocols in hospital ward settings cause stress especially for children. This includes confinement, routine medication and limited space for activities and movement. This causes regressive behaviours which include being fearful, boredom, anxiety and restlessness. As a result, the children functioning such as playfulness involving movement and interaction decreases. This phenomenon is common at paediatric hospital wards in Nigeria. The hospital management focus is more on the pathogenic treatment which deals with the provision of ward facilities for treatment of ailment and bodily pains. Thus, no consideration is given to children psychological wellbeing using a holistic approach involving salutogenic treatment with features and interaction in a setting. Therefore, this research employs a salutogenic concept to investigate the benefits of loose play items on children health restoration. Loose play items means moveable materials that children can use in their play. This was experimented with early and middle childhood paediatric patients aged 3 to 12 years. The study was conducted at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi with hospitalized children (n=17), (n=10) in control ward and (n=7) in an experiment ward and with (n=25) caregivers. The approach to the conduct of the research was phenomenological. The data were elicited through children’s responses which include their physical, social and cognitive functioning. The data were gathered using video recordings, photographs, Analytical Hierarchy process judgemental scale questionnaire, and interview with caregivers and children's drawings. The analysis was carried out using interpretive content analysis and Expert Choice 11. The analysis indicates various levels of affordances such as sitting alone, feeding and fear of routines that added stress in the control ward. While the experiment ward indicates that the play milieu afforded play, interaction, and movement space that reduces stress and promote children’s functioning, physically, socially and cognitively, leading to restoration. The finding confirms the theories used as research underpinning, theoretical framework and it is consistent with findings in related studies. Therefore, irrespective of different geographical location, country and culture, the restorative benefits of the play milieu can be universally applied in children hospital setting.

Restorativeness of play milieu affordance in a paediatric ward in Nigerian hospital

A review over unicef function on children's participation

Grass motor skill and culture knowledge is important for early childhood development, however in the North Gresik Region found that children have never been introduced to local culture, lack of games variety, and there is no development of books that can support children's knowledge of children's culture and gross motor skills.  So that, this study aims to develop an encyclopedia of traditional games. This development research uses the ADDIE model with involved PGRI Dalegan and Muslimat NU 41 Kindergarten (n=30) which are divided into two classes. Data collected using questionnaires and observation. This research produces a product in the form of a traditional game encyclopedia of Gresik City which is feasible and effective to be applied to the learning of my culture theme with a material validation percentage value of 95.83%, media validation of 88.63% which is classified as very good category. Data analysis used independent sample t-test with the value of = 0.000 that there was a difference in gross motor skills between the experimental class and the control class. The results obtained after applying the traditional game encyclopedia of Gresik city, children can understand and carry out activities playing various traditional games of Gresik city. This book is useful for improving children's gross motor skills and introducing local culture to early childhood, especially traditional games

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Developing encyclopedia book of traditional games in Gresik City on learning my cultural theme in kindergarten

This article aims to provide an insight into play as an important aspect of children’s lives in an under-studied area of Iran. Our observations focus on the province of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad with its ancient nomadic cultures. Through first-hand knowledge and lived experiences, supplemented by available literature, we seek to look at children’s games in the frame of culture change, exploring their relationship with children’s health and wellbeing. Play, as in every region in the world, conveys and reflects the dominant culture and teaches the values of the society in which the children live in the here and now and in which they will have to function as adults. Yet, types of play are not static. They develop alongside social, political and economic changes and embrace new forms emerging from modern lifestyles. The latter sometimes come into conflict with and challenge the local culture and traditional types of play, which are based on the lives and histories of the indigenous peoples and local communities. A sample of traditional tribal forms of play is analyzed for their health, entertainment and fun aspects. Such play allows children to prepare for life’s realities, in particular for a life of cooperation. By contrast, whilst also providing children with tools and skills for the needs of modern life, new types of play focus more on competition and individualism. This divergence expressed in different types of play widens the generation gap and contributes to alienation. The shift from a collective to individualistic lifestyle thus has an unsettling impact on the community and impacts on the emotional and physical wellbeing of children. We will describe types of play and their role in the holistic development of nomadic children, as well as the impact of modernization and social change, including sedentarization. The article will highlight some consequences of the demise of indigenous play, through observation and analytical comparison of children’s play in three generations. Based on the insights gained, the authors offer recommendations on how to restore traditional play and games through redesigning them to be capable of adaptation to changes in lifestyles.

Laleh Taheri

Papers

Restoration of Traditional Children's Play in Iranian Nomadic Societies (Case Study of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad).