The active, aimless, amusement of play significantly aids children in self-discovery in a fun,  low-risk environment. Considered as powerful as “the focus of a magnifying glass,” Vygotsky (1978) noted that play “contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form and is itself a major  source of development” (p. 102). The creator of kindergarten movement valued play as the “highest  expression of human development in childhood,” Fröbel considered play as the only “free  expression of what is in the child’s soul. It is the purest and most spiritual product of the child, and  at the same time it is a type of copy of human life at all stages and in all relations” (Fröbel et al., 1902, p. 50). Over centuries of inquiry and research, play has been found to benefit children’s emotional regulation (Gray, 2011) and competence (Franco et al., 2017; White, 2012), physical  development and coordination (Hännikäinen & Munter, 2018), cognitive  abilities (Fleer, 1996; Singer, 2006; Whitebread, et al., 2017), and social competences (Panksepp,  2005; Vygotsky, 1978; White, 2012), combining to offer a powerful and fun force! The following  section considers the development of play and the benefits children gain in the process. 

Considering how children learn and develop through play as they experiment with  boundaries, Gray (2011) witnessed children dosing themselves with “moderate degrees of fear as if  deliberately learning how to deal with both the physical and emotional challenges of the moderately  dangerous conditions they generate” (Gray, 2011, pp. 455-456). Developmental opportunities arise  in play where children confront fears through manageable frames in their zone of proximal development  (Vygotsky, 1978). Here, children set and achieve tasks on the edge of their comfort zones through  self-initiated, spontaneous play, enhancing their learning potential (Vygotsky, 1978). Furthermore,  children who are empowered with choice, naturally set and pass achievable and suitable challenges,  building self-confidence. Such trials frequently and naturally arise in play. Children grow “a head  taller” than themselves while playing, behaving more intelligently than their given age and daily  behavior as it enables the separation of objects from symbols (Vygotsky, 1978). Indeed, many  modern theorists and educators apply Vygotskian theories, particularly through the developmental  significance of pretend play. 

The primary form of play to emerge in children, physical play can be observed in other  species of animals and among mammals (Gray, 2011; Sutton-Smith, 2003). Evolving from rhythmic  stereotypies in babies (body-rocking, nodding, tapping, or flapping extremities), physical play  includes activities and exercise play (jumping, dancing, running, or climbing), fine motor play  (manipulating toys, cutting, coloring), rough-and-tumble play (fighting, tackling, wrestling, rolling) or  other joyful physical engagements (Whitebread et al., 2017).  

Physical play is critical for children's physical development as children learn to hone their  coordination and balance (Toy Industry Association, 2021). Observable developing motor skills and  coordination, physical play includes running, jumping, skipping and a nearly endless array of playful  actions (Whitebread et al., 2017). Through such joyful actions, primates and children “continuously  alternate between losing and regaining control of their bodily movements” (Gray, 2011, p. 455).  Such exploration is foundational in developing proper balance, strength, reaction speed, and overall  bodily awareness (Isenberg & Quiseneberry, 1988). Therefore, physical play promotes development  across domains, physically, emotionally, and socially. 

The next form of play to emerge involves babies’ exploration of the world through found  objects, coined object play. It is the playful, active manipulation of objects (White, 2012, citing,  Bjorklund & Gardiner, 2009). Emerging as soon as babies can hold onto and grasp things, object  play ignites children’s natural investigative nature and is facilitated by notions of a child's physical  world. Whitebread et al. (2017) included “sensori-motor play” when children explore “how objects  and materials feel and behave” (p. 10). Object play provides children opportunities to develop gross  and fine-motor skills through crawling, grasping, picking up, and manipulating small objects and toys  (White, 2012). Objects and toys act as triggers both as shared focal points in children's developing  communicative intentions and expectations. Small objects provide toddlers opportunities to practice  basic social skills, including not taking from others, sharing, and asking for permission (Whitebread  et al., 2017). The joint creation of scenarios with or without objects provides children with their first  experiences of social play (Hännikäinen & Munter, 2018). Cognitive contributions include  establishing problem-solving and creative abilities, learning the nature of objects, and developing  foundational skills for math, science, and technology (White, 2012). Like physical play, object play  benefits all realms of children’s development from physical to social to cognitive. 

As children’s social competence continues to expand, ruled games emerge with social  guidelines playing an essential role in play structure. Means and ends emerge and winning and losing  gain importance in play (Whitebread et al., 2017). Games are primarily social in nature and include  collective physical games like hide-and-seek; chasing games like tag or catch; electronic games; and,  as children age, the entire range of team and individual sports. Ruled games foster curiosity and  naturally scaffold social interactions, providing children opportunities to momentarily depart from  reality (Whitebread et al., 2017, citing Hassinger-Das et al., 2017). Social play provides prosperous  opportunities for children to learn theory of mind, or the associative ability to consider one’s or  others mental states including emotions and desires (Lillard et al., 2013). Further benefits of social  play include cooperation, joint problem solving, inhibition control, and emotional regulation (Evans,  2001). Emotional regulation improves as children engage in social play scenarios, learn to get along  with others to make friends, all of which contributes to prosperous mental health (Gray, 2011).  Inversely, when children are limited in their play time and experiences, Gray (2011) argues that  "young people fail to acquire the social and emotional skills necessary for healthy psychological  development" (p. 444), making social play essential not just for social and emotional but  psychological growth.

As children’s social competence continues to advance, play evolves to include more  complicated, imaginative and improvised inventions. This leads to pretend play, referring to young  children’s early forms of pretense, and socio-dramatic play referencing the more socially evolved  scenarios of elder children (Vasc & Lillard, 2020). Elements of socio-dramatic play include “imitative  role play; make-believe with objects; make-believe with actions and situations; persistence;  interaction; and verbal communication” (Fleer, 1996, p. 13, citing, Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990). The  shared foundation of these forms of play are children’s participation in an “as-if” world, occurring within an imaginative framework. 

By playing with reality, children attempt to make sense of their worlds through creating  imaginary situations, acting in different roles, and following varying rules defined by the characters they employ. Singer (2006) considered the self-reflective abilities and processes which arise though pretend play, which nurture both scientific thought and creativity. Researchers agree, considering  pretend play the premiere opportunity for children to understand the separation of their playful  actions and objects from reality (Evans, 2001; Vygotsky, 1978). This ability aids in children's  development of abstract thinking, perspective broadening, consideration of other characters and  viewpoints, and bolstering of social norms (Vasc & Lillard, 2020). Self-regulation and literacy  readiness and preliminary numeracy understanding also develop through socio-dramatic play (Singer,  2006). An acclaimed proponent of pretend play, Vygotsky (1978) believed that opportunities arise in  play for children to try on mature, adult roles, advantageous in their overall socialization processes  (Vasc & Lillard, 2020). Considering the socialization potential of pretend play and evolution into  sociodramatic play, expressions are deeply rooted in children’s specific culture. 

By enabling children to follow their natural desires and try on various roles in play, they learn  experientially, discovering what works and what doesn’t without influence or motivations of adults  or society. Indeed, play may be a child’s most natural state to learn and develop.   

References:

• Fleer, M. (1996). Theories of ‘play’: Are they ethnocentric or inclusive? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 21(4), 12-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693919602100404  

• Franco, M. G., Beja, M. J., Candeias, A., Santos, N. (2017). Emotion Understanding, Social  Competence and School Achievement in Children from Primary School in Portugal. Frontiers  in Psychology, 8(1376), 1-15. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01376

• Fröbel, F., Fletcher, S. S. F., & Welton, J. (1912). Fröebel's chief writings on education. London: Edward  Arnold. 

• Gray, P. (2011). The Decline of Play and the Rise of Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Play, 3(4), 443-463.  

• Hännikäinen, M., & Munter, H. (2018). Toddlers' play in early childhood education settings. In P. K. Smith, & J. L. Roopnarine (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of play: Developmental and  disciplinary perspectives (pp. 491-510). Cambridge University Press. 

• Panksepp, J. (2005) Beyond a Joke: From animal laughter to human joy? Science, 308(5718), 62-63.  http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1112066

• Singer, J. L. (2006). Epilogue: Learning to Play and Learning Through Play In D. G. Singer, R.  M. Golinkoff, and K. Hirsh-Pasek (Eds.) Play = Learning: How Play Motivates and  Enhances Children’s Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth. Oxford University Press, 251-262. 

• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard  University Press.  

• White, R. E. (2012). The power of play: A research summary on play and learning. Minnesota Children’s  Museum Smart Play.  

• Whitebread, D., Neale, D., Jensen, H., Lio, C., Solis, S. L., Hopkins, E., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J. 
  (2017). The role of play in children’s development: a review of the evidence. The LEGO Foundation.