Structured play for kids: Know the benefits

Whenever your kid goes out to play with their friends or takes out their favorite toys to play whichever game they wish to, they play in an unstructured way. All kids enjoy some unstructured playtime or free play. But what if we told you they could equally enjoy structured playtime?

Need help with what structured play is? Structured play is when you intervene in your kid’s playtime to help them learn something. Structured plays are always goal-oriented and involve polishing your kid’s creative thinking, motor skills, or logic to help them learn better.¹

Also read: Free play: how it is essential for your child’s learning and development

Try structured play for a change and learn the benefits it can yield.

Benefits of structured play

1) Understands teamwork

When your kid plays a board game with you or soccer with friends, they might have to listen to others and exchange opinions and ideas for the team to win. Playing together teaches your kid to respect and work with others.

2) Develops problem-solving skills

Structured play requires kids to identify the obstacles in the game and overcome them. If your kid is playing a jigsaw puzzle, they would use their logic to win the game. Various math games are also good exercises for their brain. Playing such games makes them thoroughly observe the game's patterns and develop strategies to win.

3) Achieves goals

Structured play, by definition, follows a certain structure to help your kid develop some skills. For example, playing certain board games or puzzles makes them work towards a specific goal, such as completing a pattern or winning a certain game round. It could also teach them to find a solution when a challenge arises.

4) Improves listening skills

When you play a game like Simon Says with your kid, ask them to follow your instructions promptly. Understanding requests from adults and following them can sometimes be challenging for kids. They might understand how to listen attentively to you while playing such games as they might want to win each round.

5) Helps handle chores

You can also be creative by incorporating certain chores into your kid’s structured play. If your kid is a preschooler, ask them to join you while folding laundry. Make it a game, and ask them to find the matching socks and fold them. Likewise, you can help them master household chores appropriate to their age through structured play.

Structured play helps channel your kid’s energy into activities that could be educational for them. Not just indoor or outdoor games but activities such as music, dance, drama, and so on could also be considered structured play as they all have a set of directions to follow and an end goal in mind. Use your imagination and develop effective ideas to guide and mold your kid’s skills.

Head over to byjuslearning.com to learn more about our Active Learning approach to Math, Language, and Reading for children between Pre-K and Grade 3.  

Sources

PLAY ACTIVITIES FOR MOVEMENT AND MOBILITY . (n.d.). eGyanKosh. Retrieved March 31, 2023, from https:// egyankosh. ac.in/ bitstream/ 1234 56789 /340 56/ 1/Unit -21.pdf