When I think back to my son’s early years, I find myself smiling at thoughts of him learning to catch a ball and the sheer joy on his face when he did so. Or tummy-time spent playing with rays of sunshine filtering through the windows. These moments are etched deeply in my mind as moments I spent watching him grow and develop.
Play time is a universal need of infants. For infants, learning always occurs through experience, and play is a natural instinct which combines learning with pleasure. Throughout most of childhood, play is the way children learn about themselves and their environment. For infants, in order for learning to have a significant impact, they must touch the object they are examining: they feel it, taste it, and examine it with their hands.
Have you ever tried playing with a tired, hungry, or fussy infant? It’s not much fun for you or the infant. (Or for you, frankly.) That said, infants will only play when they’re having fun. Therefore, learning must be fun and enjoyable for infants to develop.
