Heuristic Play

Are you a parent or care giver, tired of spending money on the traditional plastic and colourful toys? Do you have trouble keeping your children engrossed in play for a long period of time? If yes, this article will give some important tips on how to keep your child engrossed in play, that too without any additional cost.

As parents and practitioners, we are often concerned about our child's development. As a result, many of us have spent large sum of money on expensive toys for our children, believing that they will improve their cognition, creativity, and imagination. But these store-bought toys can hold a child's attention for a short period of time before they start losing interest in them and it becomes difficult for parent to keep their children engrossed in play.

 

Children engage and interact with the world around them through play from an early age. Play allows children to express themselves creatively while also developing their imagination, dexterity, physical, cognitive, and emotional strength and is also essential for their healthy brain development. In Friedrich Froebel’s words, “Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul”. There are many amazing benefits of play in young children, and there’s so much more to play than meets the eye.

Interestingly, when babies and toddlers are playing in the house, it’s a whole different scenario. When you let them play on their own, for example, the first thing you'll notice is them running towards the kitchen, opening cabinets, and attempting to pull out pans, pots, cutlery, or bowls. They are more interested in playing with objects that they see adults using. They can be seen exploring household objects and experimenting with what they see, as well as constantly learning new things through trial and error. This exploration is known as “heuristic play”. Children are fascinated by all heuristic play items because they are real and come from the "Actual" world. They assist the brain in making connections because they necessitate the child's exploration.

As per the Cambridge Dictionary, the term ‘heuristic’ means a method of learning or solving problems that allows people to discover things themselves and learn from their own experiences. In 1994, authors Sonia Jackson and Elinor Goldschmied in their book ‘People Under Three’ first introduced the term ‘heuristic play’. The authors use the term "heuristic play" to describe the type of experiences in which children are given opportunities to play with everyday objects without adult intervention. You might notice them playing with spoons, keys, papers or clips more than playing with the traditional plastic toys. Also, providing children with materials such as lids, cardboard boxes, metal shakers and everyday objects helps to enhance their imagination, curiosity, and sensory experiences, which aids in their overall growth and development.

Benefits of Heuristic Play for children

  1. It fosters finer motor and gross motor development - Heuristic play allows children to hold objects of various sizes and weights, enabling them to develop finer motor and gross motor skills.

  2. It encourages proper functioning of the cognitive skills – Since the little ones are learning through trial and error, they are constantly trying to use the play material in their own ways which aids in their cognitive skills.

  3. It stimulates creativity in the children – Young children can learn things in a natural way by attempting to use them in their own unique ways. The open-ended play opportunities encourage creativity as children learn how to explore their surroundings.

  4. It promotes early Mathematical skills- Playing with a variety of objects in various shapes, sizes, quantities, weights, and textures helps children develop spatial awareness.

  5. It teaches children to gain in-depth knowledge of the world around them - Children learn through first-hand experience in heuristic play by touching and feeling materials. They learn the purpose of each object through trial and error and gain an understanding of how certain objects function and work.

How can we promote "heuristic play" in children?

To start with, parent and caregivers can provide an array of materials for children to explore in the house or at their setting. Look for items that are different in shape, size, colour texture and density. For instance, you can create a ‘treasure basket’ and put different items in it such as keys, wooden spoons, egg boxes, cartons, brushes etc. The trick is to offer them different materials to explore and observe from a distance, so as not to make any distraction for the child.

You can also keep on changing the items since children might want to try out new items every time. Along with changing the items, you can also change the environment where the child wants to play. Like for example, if the child is playing in the outdoors, items like sticks, stone, pinecones, leaves, conkers or feathers can be provided for exploration.

So, heuristic play is an essential component of a child’s development, providing numerous benefits and promoting overall growth. So, next time you’re looking for a way to engage your child in play, try heuristic play and watch your child’s imagination and creativity soar!