Theory, use and therapeutic value of symbolic play

Theory, economic consumption and sanative measure out of emblematical fermentThis thunder mugvass looks at the issue of exemplary act being healthful toy for tykeren. The essay looks at the theory of exemplary tactical maneuver, the custom of exemplaryal foregather with children, the redress value of symbolic put-on, development research to support the discussions. The essay discusses what is understood by symbolic profligacy, whence moves on to discuss the splendour of symbolic fit in childrens development, flavour at the various theories that digest been put forward to explain the importance of cheer in childrens development. The essay then moves on to look at various instances where therapeutic act as has been drill, and is considered useful, such as in children who be experiencing a chronic unwellness, who atomic number 18 hospitalized, who are awaiting surgery or who have experienced about form of trauma.What is symbolic comprise? Symbolic twist is, according to Pia compress (1962) iodin of the of import slipway in which children learn to call in in a representational manner, where representation is understood as a process by dint of which children store information according to the perceptual analysis of their ingoing experiences (Leslie, 1987 Lyytinen et al., 1997). lay out essentially captures children to understand the things they experience and to put these things in to perspective. As such, play is essentially important for childrens development (Piaget, 1962). Play is one of the ways in which children understand the field, their interactions with others and the rules and regulations that govern their passage by means of the world. Play is, thus, a fundamental activity for children that allows them to form their personalities and to understand their place in the world, in relation to others.Relevant of symbolic play in child developmentSymbolic play, which arises around the age of 18 months, basical ly involves children substituting one item for another, and scum bag constitute incorporating others in to their play, pretend play or sequencing. This passel mean that children pretend to be mother (or father) or that they use household items to reproduce day-to-day activities they have seen their parents doing, amongst other common symbolic play activities. This symbolic allows children to experiment with contrastive roles and incompatible forms of being, which, as has been discussed, allows children to understand, and to contextualise, their experiences. As Piaget (1962) argues, such symbolic play allows children to understand the role of self and others, the use of objects and the sequences of actions and activities whilst playing. This allows children to understand objects, to learn about the properties of objects and to learn about consequences and causality (Piaget, 1962). Play thus allows children, amongst other things, to realize where their boundaries are, to understa nd why things work in the ways they do and to understand how to interact with others. Symbolic play is thus, as has been discussed, a fundamental developmental tool for children.Watson and Zlotlow (1999) talk about symbolic play as, an important characteristic of childrens early play, through the enactment of activities that are very familiar to the child in contexts that are not common for those activities. Enacting activities out of context allows the child to explore, and to understand, the role of performers in their lives, allowing them to understand how the world works and what their role is in this world. Symbolic play, therefore, has been argued to have three main features the use of objects the use of actions during the play and individuals enacting the play (i.e., agents) (Watson and Zlotlow, 1999). The use of objects can be undertaken in just about forms, either through substitution, in which the object is used to represent something else, through scenario-building, w ith the object being used to perform some task or in combination, with the object being used in various ways (Watson, 2008). The use of actions in play and the development of the agent in play follow certain patterns depending on the age of the child, as does the theme of childrens symbolic play (Watson, 2008). The one thing that all symbolic play has in common, at whatever age or developmental stage the child is at, is that the child uses some representation of self in their play. At age quad, for example, children willing have progressed to fantasy play, but these fantasies will usually involve themselves in becoming their fantasy a relief pitcher or a prince, for example (Garvey, 1990). This allows them to explore different roles and responsibilities.Symbolic play is, therefore, a natural phenomena, that children follow naturally, as part of their development through childhood. As Reed (2007) argues, symbolic play links all four areas of a childs development, videlicet cognit ive, language, social/emotional and physical, and, as such, is a fundamental part of the development of children. Symbolic play allows the child to acquire acquaintance and to express and represent their ideas, thoughts and feelings as Vygotsky argues, in his sociocultural cognitive theory, symbolic play allows children to develop and to self-regulate and to work out any problems they capacity construction (Reed, 2007). It is in this aspect, then, that the therapeutic value of symbolic play be bonks clear. As children constantly experiment with their environment, their peers and the other agents they meet, and as the results of these experiments are constantly being cater back to lead to reinforce certain behaviours or to elicit different patterns of behaviours, the value of play as therapy is clear. Children who are passing through a concentrated moment and who need help to understand this, to contextualise these backbreakingies in the good example of their existing knowledg e, can, through harming in therapeutic play, manage this. redress play allows them to experiment with the various out pursues and to contextualise the problems they reflection, allowing them an opportunity to work through these problems/ debatable placements, through this working out their unwieldyies and coming to understand how to deal with them.The use of symbolic play as therapyIn terms of the use of symbolic play as therapy with children, as Bettelheim states, Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unresolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It is also his most significant tool for preparing himself for the proximo and its tasks (Schaefer, 1995). Using play as a tool to help children through a difficult stage in their lives is, therefore, grounded in theory and makes whiz in light of the fact that children learn through play. The research shows, for example, that therapeutic play can be helpful in aiding childre n through hospital stays (William, 2007) or through surgery, with this therapeutic play being shown to edit disquiet and increase overall well-being (Bowmer, 2002). As Moore and Russ (2006) discuss, pretend play can act as a resource for children, relating, as it does, to many areas of line upive functioning including creativity, coping and emotional regulation. As Moore and Russ (2006) show, pretend play in hospital settings can reduce anxiety and, through this, can reduce the likelihood of complications following surgery and can allow children to adapt better to the complications of chronic illness.The therapeutic value of symbolic playIn terms of the therapeutic value of symbolic play, as Axline (1964) discusses, therapeutic play can be delivered through one of two major approaches, namely via non-directive play therapy and via directive play therapy (Oaklander, 1988). According to Axline (1964), play therapy should be governed by eight principles, namely that the healer and child must be comfy with each other that the therapist accepts the child as he/she is that the child can freely express their feelings that the therapist is alert to the feelings the child expresses that the therapist respects the child and their ability to resolve their own problems that the therapist does not attempt to influence the child that the therapy is carried out in its own judgment of conviction and that the only limitations placed on the play therapy are those that anchor the therapy in the real world (Axline, 1964). If the therapeutic play is provided within this framework, the benefits of the therapeutic play can be many and varied, as discussed above, with the troubled child benefitting greatly from this intervention.As Li and Lopez (2008) argue, therapeutic play can be precious not only in helping children through a difficult stage in their lives but can be useful in helping to in prepare children for a stressful, or difficult, achievement that they might face. F or example, children who are facing surgery or a chronic illness can be helped to serve to terms with this through the use of therapeutic play. As Li and Lopez (2008) report, by reinforcing to nursing and medical staff that play is a very important part of the lives of young children, and be employing therapeutic play techniques, this can markedly correct the anxiety that these children experience and can allow these children to have a more(prenominal) positive outlook regarding their situation and the difficult things they will face, meaning that they are better equipped to face these situations. As Li and Lopez (2008) argue, therapeutic play can help to improve the resilience of children who face difficulties and, as such, it is an important tool to use in those children who need help to be tot more resilient.Children who have faced some form of trauma, for example, can be aided through the fallout of this trauma through engaging in therapeutic play. By allowing the child the lay to act out what they saw, or what they have experienced, for example, the child can come to terms with this traumatic experience. This therapeutic play could take the form of exploitation puppets, or drawing, or role playing anything that allows the child to re-enact the event(s) and, through this, come to terms with what happened. The use of therapeutic play in explaining the loss of psyche close to them is known to be particularly valuable, for example, as this can allow them to imagine the person is still here and to resolve any corking issues they had with them, or to slowly come to terms with the fact that they are no longer alive and no longer able to be physically present with the child. The simple act of playing can, therefore, allow the child to come to terms with many difficult emotions, allowing the child to slowly become more able to cope with the negative emotions that a traumatic event (such as witnessing a violent act or the unexpected death of a close family m ember), allowing them to deal with these negative emotions (Schaefer and OConnor, 1994). As Schaefer and OConnor (1994) argue, role playing in particular can help children to face the negative post-trauma reactions that children might face, with role-play allowing children to experience the trauma and to find various solutions to their negative experiences and emotions.ConclusionIn summary, then, this essay has looked at the issue of symbolic play being therapeutic play for children. The essay has looked, in particular, at the theory of symbolic play, the use of symbolic play with children and the therapeutic value of symbolic play. In regards to the theory of symbolic play, it has been seen that various theories have been proposed to explain the importance of symbolic play in childrens development, with all of these theories agreeing that play is a fundamental part of childrens development and that this play allows them to contextualise their experiences and to understand how thes e experiences dictate how they should act and should behave in different situations.It is this pass judgment of symbolic play that lends itself to being useful in helping children come to terms with difficult events in their lives as has been discussed, play allows children to explore different scenarios (even difficult scenarios), with this play enabling them to overcome any negative emotions or feelings they might have had towards these scenarios. A child who is facing a difficult surgery, for example, might be scared, might be worried for themselves and for their families, but engaging in role play with this child (for example) allows them the opportunity to explore different possibilities and to release some of their anxieties and concerns. This has been shown, as discussed, to reduce the anxiety these children feel and to change the childs health and well-being to be maintained, even under difficult circumstances. Similarly, a child who has experienced trauma can be helped th rough their post-traumatic period by engaging in some form of therapeutic play. This would unremarkably consist of helping the child to act out their fears and their experiences, allowing the child to get rid of all of their negative emotions and feelings with regards to the even, allowing the child to expel these from their psyche and then to carry on without carrying this burden along with them.In conclusion, then, the essay has shown that play is fundamental for children and that, given its experimental nature and its ability to contextualise events and interactions for children, play is, at its very essence, therapeutic. Using play with children who need therapeutic interventions, then, makes perfect backbone to allow children to understand the negative events/emotions and to overcome their fears and anxieties regarding these negative events and emotions. Therapeutic play has been shown to be a useful intervention in many cases, including in hospitalized children and in childr en living with chronic illnesses, who can be helped through this difficult period by engaging in therapeutic play, which has been shown to reduce their anxiety levels. In conclusion, then, therapeutic play is an extension of the symbolic play that children hold in as a normal developmental process and can be useful in helping children through difficult periods in their life.