The stage of Piaget’s theory of childhood cognitive development that Mollie and her friends are in is the ‘preoperational stage.’ The preoperational stage consists of children from the ages of 2 to 7 years old. At this stage, the child is able to talk and communicate and can also think in symbols and images. They have a good imagination but are unable to manipulate information given to them. They have egocentric thought, meaning that they cannot think from another person’s point of view. “The child is incapable of assuming another person's point of view and they believe that everyone else perceives the environment in the same way they do” (Asokan, Surendran, Asokan, & Nuvvula, 2014, p.1). They partake in animistic thinking, which …show more content…
is the belief that all things are living and experience emotion, thought and motive. The ‘Theory of Mind’ develops in children aged 4 to 5 approximately. The Theory of Mind is the children’s thoughts about their mental state, and other people’s mental state.
In the chapter, a situation that illustrates one of the characteristics of the preoperational stage is that “Mollie and her classmates are engaged in pretend play and are creating make-believe and imaginary situations. Their play is intrinsically motivated and creative, and it follows rules they make up and agree to.” (Paley, V, G. 2010. P.38) This is playing pretend games. Pretend games are a characteristic of the preoperational stage in which the children all share the same imaginary thoughts and all agree on the same rules and regulations pertaining to the game.
In the chapter, another situation that illustrates one of the characteristics of the preoperational stage is that, to Mollie “fantasy characters and real people all communicate in the same language” (Paley, V, G. 2010, P.39). This is an example of animistic thinking. Animistic thinking is the belief that inanimate objects and everything not human is living and experience emotion, thought and motive. Mollie believes that her fantasy characters communicate through the same language and thought process that she does.
Question 2
Piaget’s concept of assimilation is incorporating new information into already existing schemas. In children, assimilation contributes to the children’s cognitive development in the sense that they will modify information and experiences given to them to fit into their own preexisting ideas pertaining to the matter. They will eventually build their level of information and knowledge by learning new things, hence, continuing to develop. An example of this is seeing a cat and labelling it ‘cat,’ therefore, assimilating the cat into the child’s cat schema. Assimilation is shown in the chapter when Mollie incorporates "Mushroom in the Rain," "The Three Pigs," and "Hansel and Gretel " into a Wonder Woman story. Mollie is taking various forms of information and combining it all to create new information then adding it into her already existing schema.
Piaget’s concept of accommodation is altering existing schemas to incorporate new information that would not fit into the old schema. “Accommodation involves altering existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences” (2010, 09).
When children learn new information that counteracts or even dispels new information, they will use the process of accommodation to replace the existing information with the new information, hence, furthering their knowledge, learning and growth. An example from the chapter regarding to the concept of accommodation is when the children find out that the climbing structure has been taken down. Once this new information is processed, they come to realise that the structure is not there anymore, replacing the old information with this new information, successfully altering their existing schema pertaining to the climbing structure.
Question 3
The article “Unstructured play helps children's development” by Julie Deardorff explores the social, physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits of play.
The aim of the article is to shed light on the benefits of rough play and how it actually helps the development of children. Rough play can “teach children how to manage their own emotions and read the feelings of others, making them more likable,” (Deardorff, 2011) and more adaptable to social situations. It can teach them that bigger people need to hold back and it can teach them to be more sensitive to other people’s emotions or feelings, making them more adaptable to society and other people, also teaching them empathy.
Rough play between parent and child can increase the levels of trust and confidence the child has in the parent and it can strengthen the bond. There are also physical benefits to rough play as it can be psychically challenging and can keep the child up on their feet, moving and exercising.
Deardorff also expresses the importance of having a safe word. If things get out of hand and either the parent or the child is uncomfortable, there needs to be a safe word to stop the play and regain their footing. The findings of this article is that play is an important part a child’s development as it not only helps them physically, but it helps them mentally, socially and and emotionally as
well.
Play helps a child physically as it keeps them active and physical, keeping them fit and healthy, while also providing them with a release to release any excess energy they may have stored up. Play is good for ensuring that the child does not become overweight and it can also help them build muscle and keep growing. It can introduce them to sport and set them up for an exercise filed life, keeping them fit, healthy, and toned for life.
Play helps a child mentally because it makes them think. By thinking, children are expanding their minds and building on their stored knowledge and information. Play can teach children new things about themselves as well. It can teach them what they do like and what they do not like. It can teach them where to draw the line and how to not go overboard.
Play helps build a child’s social skills on the basis that while playing, children interact with one another, learning new things with one another and making new friends. Play can also help children understand right from wrong, it can teach them where to draw the line and what is socially acceptable and what is not.
Lastly, play can help children emotionally in the sense that it can teach children how to understand people’s reactions. If the child does something that their peer may not like, they will witness their reaction and come to understand that what they did was not right and it can teach them to do the right thing. It can help the children understand other people’s emotions and feelings, building their empathy and ultimately, their humanity.