September's Topic: The Importance of Play
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Ask The Expert!
J. Ronald Lally
J. Ronald Lally, EdD, co-director Center for Child and Family Studies,WestEd and the Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC) is one of the founders of ZERO TO THREE. His research deals with social—emotional development in infancy and the impact of early intervention on adult functioning. He is the executive producer of 21 PITC infant—toddler training DVDs. These DVDs and accompanying print materials are the most widely distributed infant—toddler care training materials in the country. Most recently he and his staff have been responsible for the development of infant—toddler and preschool guidelines and standards for the states of California and Ohio. |
Play Under Siege: A Historical Overview
Edward F. Zigler and Sandra J. Bishop-Josef
In this updated version of their chapter from Children’s Play: The Roots of Reading (published by ZERO TO THREE in 2004), the authors describe the recent attack on play, in both early childhood and elementary education. They provide a historical overview of the contentious relationship between play and cognitive development. The authors stress the necessity of a whole child approach, including an appreciation for the essential role of play for cognitive, social, and physical development. Quality preschool education, they conclude, requires pursuing both hands-on, play-based learning and developmentally appropriate instruction of academic skills.
Addressing Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Challenges Through Play: Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation in Action
Deborah Hirschland
Research suggests what many parents and early care and education staff already know: Significant numbers of young children are struggling with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges that negatively impact their functioning as family members, friends, and learners. This article explores how caregivers can foster developmental mastery and emotional well-being through supporting children's play. With an emphasis on the importance of understanding a child's challenges before intervening—and on the specifics of supporting play successfully—the article also highlights the contribution of early childhood mental health consultation in empowering adults to understand and help the children they care for.
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Linking Play to Early Learning and Development Guidelines:
Possibility or Polemic?
Sharon Lynn Kagan, Catherine Scott-Little, and Victoria Stebbins Frelow
Early learning and development guidelines have often been regarded as a deterrent to an emphasis on play within early learning settings for infants and toddlers. In examining the context for, and the evolution of, early learning guidelines, the article delineates the need to scrutinize and help reverse this mindset. To that end, the authors consider the possible roles that early learning guidelines might play in advancing the “play” agenda, as well as in advancing services to young children and their families. Contrary to speculation that the advent of early learning guidelines might minimize the role of play in infant—toddler programs, the authors point out the benefits of using play intentionally to support children’s development of the knowledge and skills articulated in early learning guidelines, and advocate the use of informal assessments to guide a play-based approach to using early learning guidelines. Building on the authors’ research and experience, concrete recommendations regarding how this might be achieved are provided.
ZERO TO THREE’s Efforts to Support Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers
ZERO TO THREE
This article describes ZERO TO THREE’s efforts to ensure that all infants and toddlers
have access to high-quality early learning experiences by giving states and territories
the necessary tools to provide quality child care. The recommendations help states to develop or revise guidelines to be clear and meaningful so caregivers and families can actively engage and guide development and learning in a variety of play-based settings—including centers; family child care homes; and in home care provided by family, friends, or neighbors
A Functional, Holistic Approach to Developmental Assessment Through Play: The Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment, Second Edition
Toni Linder and Keri Linas
Early intervention and early childhood special education professionals espouse the need for authentic assessment and meaningful family involvement, as well as relationship-based and routines-based intervention. This article explores a play-based approach to assessment that reflects these values by using the Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment, Second Edition (TPBA2). The authors describe the theoretical underpinnings and research findings of the TPBA2 and compare it with other common assessment tools, including the Bayley Scales of Infant Development—Third Edition, the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales.
The Secret of Play: Birth to 12 Months
Ann Pleshette Murphy
This article is an excerpt from The Secret of Play: How to Raise Smart, Healthy, Caring Kids From Birth to Age 12 (2008, DK Publishing) by parenting expert Ann Pleshette Murphy. The author draws on child development research to help parents understand how play helps children learn at each stage of development and offers practical suggestions for parents and other caregivers to create developmentally appropriate play experiences.
Strengthening Play Through Father Involvement
Kyle Pruett
In his essay exploring the latest research finding on the importance of men in the lives of young children, the author describes two ongoing empirical studies that are proving particularly instructive in understanding the significance of paternal contributions to improving young child outcomes. Both projects are encouraging direct paternal play engagement in at-risk populations and discovering positive outcomes for families.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
The Professional Preparation of Early Care and Education Providers: Addressing the Mismatch Between Policy and Practice
Carla B. Goble, James D. Moran, and Diane M. Horm
Research continues to highlight the relationship between high quality preschool experiences for young children and the educational preparedness of their teachers. As a result, there is an increasing call for enhanced educational preparation for early childhood teachers working in the wide spectrum of programs serving infants, toddlers, and preschool children. Many higher education institutions are not adequately meeting the challenge of providing course content in early childhood development, teaching practices, infant—toddler care, and competence in working with families to adequately recruit and prepare early childhood teachers. Issues and suggestions for addressing these problems will be explored in this article.
Mental Health Consultation in Early Childhood Classrooms
Jane Bernzweig, Malia Ramler, and Abbey Alkon
Early childhood mental health consultation is a relationship-based intervention that promotes children’s social and emotional development. Benefits include improved childhood behaviors, improved staff self-efficacy, and lowered parental stress. Child care center directors are more likely to be satisfied with consultation when they are involved in planning, when they are clear about the consultant’s role, when they are provided with protected time to work with the consultant, and when they experience low staff and consultant turnover.
Finding Hope in Despair: Charlene and Jay
Julie Stone
This article is excerpted from a chapter in Finding Hope in Despair: Clinical Studies in Infant Mental Health (edited by Marian Birch, published 2008 by ZERO TO THREE). Therapeutic intervention with children and families is not always successful, but the professional literature does not often address treatment failures. To address this need, Finding Hope in Despair explores the limitations of infant—parent psychotherapy by examining treatment failures using a unique format for reflective discussion.
Practical Tips and Tools: The Truth About Play
Rebecca Parlakian and Claire Lerner
Play is learning, and it’s one of the most important ways you can nurture development. This “true and false” quiz helps you understand how to make the most of playtime with young children.
The Zero to Three Journal Facebook page provides a place for Zero to Three Journal readers to enrich their learning by offering the opportunity to connect with colleagues around the world who share an interest and passion for improving the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families. Join us on Facebook to pose questions, engage in discussion, find resources, and stay up-to-date on the latest news and information from the Zero to Three Journal.
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