In the world of children's play, Kuwait Times took an exploratory journey with Pediatric Occupational Therapist Dr Eman Jaafar Abdullah, discovering the realms where the essence of humanity unfolds, revealing the profound secrets of playing that unlock little individuals' consciousness and perceptions. Dr Eman shared valuable perspective on physical and digital play, shedding light on fundamental factors including spatial awareness and stereognosis.
Physical playing is a magical foundation for the mental and physical growth of a child, especially for children up to 6 years old. This type of play has many benefits, including discovering future hobbies through experience, such as finding out if they enjoy coloring, drawing, swimming and other activities, in addition to developing skills in imagination, interaction with others and emotions.
There are two fundamental factors that must be highlighted, namely what is known as spatial awareness. This refers to the ability to feel oneself in the surrounding environment, giving awareness to the individual about three-dimensional objects instead of just two-dimensional, along with the ability to touch while playing, supporting physical understanding. It provides opportunities for sensory discovery both within oneself and in the surrounding environment, understanding how to interact and react to it.
As for digital games, they do not offer the same depth in three-dimensional experience and sensation, since they only provide a two-dimensional experience. For example, a child pushing themselves down a slide to play requires the physical force needed to slide downwards, something not achievable in digital play. This example applies to other activities in an individual’s life. This highlights the importance of physical play over digital play in providing bodily awareness, spatial awareness and depth perception. It is about benefiting from motor and sensory skills.
Another point to consider is stereognosis, the ability to recognize objects through touch without relying on vision. This ability is developed through the use of delicate hand movements needed in the future for tasks like holding a pen, buttoning a shirt and other fine hand motor skills. Digital play does not sufficiently develop these abilities due to the lack of varied surfaces, shapes, textures and temperatures for tactile feedback, causing delays in some children’s sensory skills development.
Through physical play, children learn skills like coordination and planning. For instance, kicking a ball teaches a child about the force and distance they generate in their environment and the impact the environment has on their movements. This helps the child learn how to apply the right force and effort, contributing to problem-solving skills and cognitive thinking. The physical and mental benefits of building these capacities from a young age reflect positively as they grow older, benefits not provided by flat screens like tablet computers.
Dr Eman concluded by advising parents on scheduling routines for their children. "Children enjoy routine and rules because it allows them to anticipate what comes next, giving them the ability to prepare for what’s ahead. Therefore, it is recommended to establish a routine for a child to be exposed to new skills. Having a routine helps parents know when to introduce play and exploration in a child’s life, ensuring its presence and continuity in their development. Even for digital games, parents should regulate and limit the child’s screen time by making the iPad available only on weekends, for instance,” she told Kuwait Times.
It is also advised to expose the child to physical activities that suit their abilities and skills, neither too easy to bore them nor too difficult to discourage them, making it easier for parents to guide towards physical play rather than digital play. Once the child’s preferred type of activity is discovered, they should be further exposed and encouraged. This brings us back to the point mentioned earlier, that physical play is a gateway to discovering hobbies and passions. It is essential not to forget that play is indeed a right among children’s rights,” Dr Eman stressed.