The Importance of Play in Early Childhood
Play provides the all-important building blocks for your little one’s development – bring more play into their everyday, and watch their skills soar!
Did you know that 90% of a child’s brain develops before the age of five? That’s a big ol’ chunk of brain! It probably comes as no surprise then, that play aids so much of that early development – especially between the ages of one and five. In fact, it’s scientifically proven that play helps kids learn new life skills to take with them into future life.
Which is music to our ears because, well… kids love to play! From babies playing with food in their highchair and toddlers making mud pies in the garden to preschoolers role-playing with toys, children learn something new through play every day.
Here at the LEGO Group, we take play very seriously and realize how fundamental it is for skill-building in kids. That’s why we introduced Learning Through Play, to help children subconsciously train those important life skills through their early years – and have fun in the process!
Ready, set, go!
Why is play important?
We all want the little ones in our lives to hit those all-important milestones, like taking their first steps, saying their first word, standing up by themselves – the big ‘aww’ moments that make us feel so proud! But did you know that play can help train children’s IQ and EQ skills (don’t worry, we’ll explain these in a minute!) to reach these developmental milestones faster?
What are IQ skills?
IQ skills are associated with the mind, also known as logical thinking. IQ skills can be anything from cognitive and physical to creative development in your child, so it covers a few bases. But in a nutshell, it’s when your kid starts to realize stuff! We like to call them ‘lightbulb moments’, and we’ll go through some examples later.
What are EQ skills?
EQ skills, on the other hand, are all about the heart – they support emotional development in the early years. Peace and love, people! Social and emotional skills can help your child express and understand themselves (as well as others) better. These skills ready them for childcare settings and social interactions.
As you can guess, both IQ and EQ skills are super important in a child’s early development. And guess what? Play can train both.