Taniesha Burke, Contributor

Playing is a natural activity for children. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

'Ring a ring a rosy', hopscotch, storytelling are some of the fun activities we all used to participate in as children. How many of us truly realise the importance of play to childhood development?

Playing is a natural activity for children. It contributes significantly to the children becoming well-rounded and healthy, and it assists in shaping their intellectual, social, emotional and physical capacity.

Playing is crucial for the development of our nation's young minds, in as much that it:

Exposes children to several life experiences that develop maturity and enable them to handle challenges as they grow.

Allows children to develop control of their body through activities such as jumping, skipping and running. Additionally, it enhances muscle tone, balance and coordination.

Enhances physical skills of the child, enabling the child to become more secure and independent.

Enhances the sense of touch as well as hearing and develops the hand and eye coordination in younger children.

Develops every child's social skills, such as cooperation, healthy competition, patience, perseverance, creativity, positive human relations, sharing and listening to others.

Promotes interactive capabilities and social awareness in children.

Develops language skills, negotiation skills, decision making, problem-solving skills, while enabling the children to be more self-expressive.

Parents can develop a fun play plan for the summer that is well-rounded for their children. A well-rounded play plan incorporates activities that directly tackle the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development needs of the children. This can be done throughout the day and not necessarily all at once.

An effective physical play involves, for example, crawling and grasping for infants, while for older children it involves running, skipping, walking, and playing hopscotch. Parents can be creative and develop their activities/games that are fun and exciting.

An effective intellectual play plan encompasses activities such as identifying colours and shapes, storytelling, painting, counting, and simple things such as asking a child to explain what they understood in the story or movie watched, completing a jigsaw puzzle or writing an essay.

For a creative plan to be fulfilling emotionally it should occur within an atmosphere that encourages the children to express their emotions freely. Activities to assist with this include role-play, where the children talk about what makes people happy or sad, and asking the children to act out what makes them feel happy or sad.

Girls from the Rest Junior High and Primary School playing the game 'London Bridge'. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Children deserve clean environs in which to play and live. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

This encourages the children to think about how they truly feel and begin to understand their feelings and the feelings of others.

To enhance the social development of children, parents need to encourage them to play with other children within their age group in activities such as using blocks to build an object as a team. In such activities, children learn how to interact and work with each.

Finally, the setting for playing should be comfortable, free from major distractions, have adequate lighting and be safe. The length of time for activities should be short, especially for young children, as their attention span is short.

Throughout the activities, especially during the physical ones, children should be hydrated with water regularly. Foods that are sweet or salty should be avoided.

This summer is the perfect opportunity for parents to transform the way their children spend their free time. Using structured play will not only enhance the children's development, it will also increase the bond of the family when every member participates.