The importance of playing for children can never be understated. From what parents and supervising adults can see, it's easy to identify what playing is and how kids engage with it. It is so easy that some may downplay it as a simple pastime for a growing and developing child.

On the surface, it's a resolution that some parents resort to so they can entertain their children. It's the kids' form of leisure and amusement. We never have to think much about it. For the majority, it's just as simple as engaging in an activity so children can have something to spend their energy on. Adults often consider it a way to soothe the babies' crying, relieve toddlers' excessive energy, and satisfy preschoolers' constant curiosity.

Let's define "play" in children to start on the same page.

What is play? 

"Play" encapsulates activities geared towards children's amusement and engagement to stoke their imagination and creativity. These activities are voluntary and initiated by the child's instinct, curiosity, and motivation. It may or may not follow rules, but children should stay safe. Moreover, it makes the child cognitively and physically active and rewarded.

There are many kinds of play in children, but the most common is exploratory play, which is commonly aided by toys. It's where the children use and exercise their senses. It often begins at home and when babies are in their first few weeks. 

The use of exploratory objects often encourages pure play, where children have all the control and adults act as pure spectators, watching their children play and ensuring they are always unharmed.

When does play begin? 

Humans are naturally curious. They possess a propensity for learning. This nature allows infants to instinctively try to quell their interests around them by moving their extremities and biting or shaking whatever they have in their hands. Still, only when they reach their 6th month do they begin to interact and play with their toys physically. So it's the perfect time to introduce to infants toys that will maximize their development and provide them joy, such as this one-of-a-kind wooden baby jumper, The Rue, which has exceptional quality and design. Not only babies they be entertained, but they'll also be safe and secure, thanks to top-notch craftsmanship and attention to detail that was put into this baby jumper. 

Playing is far more than just an amusement.

In the first few years of our children's lives, we assume their routine is locked on eating and sleeping. And playing doesn't carry equal weight.

Although some adults may think such, playing should be integral to their children's routine. It has a tremendous impact on the development of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers – from infancy into their early childhood.

Although it doesn't usually get much attention, it has more beneficial functions to children from infancy until they complete their childhood that parents, guardians, and babysitters need to appreciate.

 Play encourages children to be creative and imaginative by using toys they have on hand. Various cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, imagination, perception, sensation, and other executive functions, are slowly honed through play during childhood development.

It is a learning in disguise as it helps various cognitive development while providing a setup that allows children in their different stages of development to enjoy and have fun. 

Preparation for a real-life situation 

With playing, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers learn without perceiving the activity as an obligation. Hence, it's easier for them to focus and learn or master skills. Children engage in different activities that may prepare them later in adulthood.

Play provides a springboard for later-on real-life challenges.

Exposure and learning surroundings

During play, children use their senses to explore their surroundings and try to figure out how things around them work. Even if kids are playing, they always try to find meaning out of what they see around them. 

They stimulate their senses and create connections in their brain to help improve their ways of thinking and other cognitive functions, such as memory, thinking, and reasoning. Through play and toys like Monty Organic Cotton Play Tunnel, children are stimulated to solve problems, analyze, and focus without deliberate effort. 

Enhancing cognition

These skills are vital for brain development and may have a long-lasting impact on one's ability to have better cognitive processes, such as memory and attention span. 

Different kinds of play may target multiple senses. Some may only involve a few senses where they learn other real-life concepts, such as patterns, familiarity with colors and shapes, rhythm and dynamics, balance, planning, building, sorting, arranging objects, and exposure to textures. These experiences prepare their mental stamina to deal with real-life situations. 

Not just for a more intelligent mind but also for a more robust physical body

The physical benefits of play are intuitive to all as it promotes body movement. While kids are having fun, they are compelled to move to play and interact with their toys self-directedly without dragging themselves. They enjoy and take pleasure while developing and strengthening their muscles and bones. 

Other motor skills that play affords children, including babies, are balance, agility, and coordination.

Intricate movements of the body

Moreover, playing also allows children to develop their fine motor skills, which are critical for newborns until two years of age. 

Fine motor skills refer to the functions that hands and arms can perform, such as grasping and picking up objects, to name a few. It also includes coordination between the eyes and the arms. 

Beneficial for bigger-scale motions

The physical benefits continue after the development of fine motor skills. Gross motor skills also factor into the equation when children or babies start to play. 

While fine motor skills involve smaller muscle groups and generally talk about smaller movements, gross motor skills refer to more extensive and encompassing body movements, such as walking, flexibility, and kicking. 

When children play, the fine and gross motor skills work together without the child's conscious effort, making them continue having fun while being physically active, which may set a solid foundation for healthy habits later in life. 

Play sparks imaginations and enables children to feel. 

Although emotions are complex, playing provides the groundwork for children to feel through external stimuli such as toys and interaction. With play, they can experience joy, anger, excitement, and disappointment. 

Over time, they learn how to navigate and cope with these emotions as they experience them. Children can then understand others and themselves, allowing for a better understanding of self-identity. 

When children play, they can create worlds and characters out of the materials they have based on the surroundings that they are growing up in. They may create stories that represent their current state of emotion. 

For a confident and socially healthy child

In addition to letting children experience emotions, playing enhances children's social skills. Playing a game is highly social when done with others. Children playing with their parents and others allows for a stronger bond, a more profound sense of trust, and better communication. 

So children can succeed socially, they need to have a good understanding of emotions, which paves the way for them to understand themselves and others better. This results in confidence, which is vital to interact with others better. 

Through play, children can learn or have a strong foundation of social dynamics, such as participating in camaraderie, showing affection and empathy when interacting, communicating, taking turns, and learning to respect and adhere to rules and norms with their playmates. Consequently, children find themselves in better relationships with other children and adults. 

Understanding one's emotions leads to better social skills, which may provide a strong foundation for children to behave well. 

Monty Toys - A Revolution in Child's Play

As parents, we naturally seek the best for our little ones. We understand, consciously or intuitively, that the first 5 years of our child's life will shape the structure of their brain for the rest of their life.

Monty Toys isn't just another toy store.

Our toys are a testament to the importance of our children's early years.

Monty Toys are designed and curated by our child developmental experts to nurture your child's innate curiosity, fostering independence, critical thinking, and respect for oneself, others, and their surroundings.

By providing strategic toys and materials tailored to your child's developmental stage, we allow children and parents to become active agents in their own education and development.

Every product from Monty Toys comes with a tailored 1-page informational document, ensuring parents grasp the educational essence and purpose of each toy. This guide illuminates the science behind the toy's design and offers insights into enhancing a child's learning experience.

It's not just about play; it's about informed, developmental engagement for both child and parent.

Join us in Learning through Play!