Introduction

The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights recognizes playing as a right for every child, but it is often
contested due to issues like child labor and mistreatment. Not all children are privileged to play, leading to missed
opportunities and limited potential development. Playing not only develops cognitive, social, and emotional well-being
but also actively participates in social life and relationships. In some cases, play may not prepare children for future
social life but rather facilitates active participation in social life.

Social development
Social development is crucial for a child's healthful progress and enables them to form nourishing relationships
and assimilate into social situations. It begins with interaction with parents, who should show love and attention to
their child's needs. These building blocks help the child grow into a content, self-assured, and socially healthy
person, ensuring their growth and success in adulthood.

Play and Social Development

Play is a valuable learning process that helps children develop identity, understanding of their social and cultural
worlds, and explore cultures, communities, and friendships. It involves the mutual coordination of goals, actions, and
understanding, benefiting both children and adults. As infants, children experience sharing toys, which helps them
develop friendships that offer additional security and support to their parents.

Different Theories of Play

Cognitive theories have shifted the focus of research on play, focusing on children's intellectual development and
thinking processes. Piaget's developmental theory suggests that children progress through distinct phases in their
thought processes, and play helps consolidate and practice recently acquired concepts and skills. Vygotsky's theory
suggests that play promotes development by serving as a scaffold within a child's proximal development zone,
helping them attain higher levels of functioning. Bruner's research focuses on how childhood play contributes to
problem-solving abilities, as the means are more important than the ends. Stuart Brown (2010) argues that play is
evolutionary, purposeless, voluntary, inherent, and has intrinsic attraction. Gray (2013) describes play as imaginative,
separate from real life, and involving mental non-stressed activity.

Parent’s Stages of Play

Mildred Parten (1932) identified six types of play in 2 to 5-year-old children: non-social (unoccupied, solitary, and
onlooker) and social play (parallel, associative, and cooperative). Younger children engage in non-social play more
than older children, while by age 5, associative and cooperative play are the most common forms. Play changes as
children grow and develop social skills. Unoccupied play (Birth-3 Months) involves learning about body movements,
while
solitary play (3 Months-2 Years) is when a child plays alone without interest in social interactions. Parallel play
(2+ Years) involves playing alongside or near others but not playing with them. As a child grows, play's appearance,
function, and implications may change. Social play offers opportunities for children to acquire joint attention skills,
focusing on other people's characteristics and focusing on the same external object or event.

Play as Interaction with Peers: Building Friendships

Peer interactions are crucial for social learning and problem-solving, allowing children to initiate and maintain social
interactions and develop skills for managing conflicts. Infants react emotionally to their peers' emotions and engage in
simple motor behaviors. Understanding factors contributing to establishing relationships with peers, such as empathy
and prosocial behaviors, is essential for fostering adaptive social development. Infants develop close relationships
with familiar children and develop strong social connections. Toddlers' relationships with peers have positive
developmental outcomes, including higher emotional mental health and school success. The expression of positive
and negative emotions plays a significant role in developing social relationships, with positive emotions appealing to
social partners and problematic management leading to difficulties.

Attachment between childhood and adulthood

Play is crucial for children's development and future generations. Adults who are allowed to play develop people
skills at an early age, making them easier to communicate with and potentially avoiding violent crime. Playing as a
child provides building blocks of life, teaching children the importance of sharing, self-expression, problem-solving,
and resilience. As adults, leisure activities are linked to the play time they experienced as children, allowing them to
relax and enjoy their lives. Leisure activities and play are similar, but they are more complex as individuals mature.
Examples of leisure activities for adults include scrabble, crossword puzzles, and sports. Leisure activities may be
similar for adults and children, but the intensity varies. Overall, playing is essential for a child's development and
the enjoyment of life.

Conclusion
Play is crucial for a child's social development, as it helps them develop individual personalities, cope with different
situations, and adapt to different situations. It also helps children stay fit, develop motor, cognitive, and language skills
through physical activities and creative thinking.
Play also promotes self-esteem and confidence, which are important for adult life. Parents and caregivers play a
significant role in reinforcing these skills, ensuring children become responsible and successful individuals in society.