Some parents are quite strict in their implementation of playtime, especially during school days as kids need to study. However, there are instances when play time and study time can be done together. Yes, playing can benefit your kids, too. Here are three important things that can tell you how.

Playing helps develop children’s skills.

When children are asked to pretend that they are off to the market to buy food for the family, they are already playing. This kind of play gives them the chance to practice their cognitive skills as they will need to know how much to spend for what they will buy. It’s just make-believe, but it is really helpful. You can use play money so your kids have something they can use as payment for what they purchase. Another situation would be children playing together at the park or the school playground. This gives them an opportunity to connect and socialize with each other (social skills). Other skills that are developed through playing are vocabulary (i.e. reading the instructions of a board game), literacy (i.e. pretending to be a teacher and writing instructions for an activity), and physical (i.e. going through an obstacle course for kids).

Playing helps children gain self-confidence and emotional maturity.

Being with other children and interacting with them will help your kids become more confident and emotionally mature. Since he or she now knows how to connect with other children, he or she will not hesitate to do it again. This will give him or her opportunities to discover more of him/herself and to explore new environments and experiences. Likewise, your kids will have a generally good mood all the time, which means fewer chances for stress and anxiety to kick in. Your kids will perform better in school, will be fun and delightful at home, and will enjoy life.

Playing helps address your children’s multiple intelligences.

Doing activities inside the classroom is one way of learning, but it is not the end-all and be-all. Children need to be exposed to other forms of learning because it will give them a kind of satisfaction they won’t get when solving problems inside the classroom. It will provide them with an opportunity to explore their multiple intelligences, the ones that are not effectively displayed and used in the classroom. For example, your child may be an average when it comes to solving math problems, but if you bring him or her to the playroom, he/she can solve even the most complicated puzzles. Playing addressed that kind of need for your children.