Recruitment Presentation

Childhood play is the backbone of a human being’s social, physical, cognitive and emotional state. It is at this stage that children get the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the environment around them. Children from different cultures, religions, regions and social classes play different games. For example, in China, the popular children games are the likes of Forcing the city gates, Cat and Mouse, Round and Round, and many others (David, 2019 May 10). In the game, “Forcing the city gates,” a group of ten to thirty children divides into two groups. Members each group hold hands in a straight line. The two groups stand opposite each other, with about 10 feet. Now, one of the groups appoints a representative, who dashes across and attempts to break through the wall formed by the other group. In case he fails, the defensive team sends their representative to launch a counterattack. The teams continue switching representatives until one of them is beaten.

Taking another example, Mbube-Mbube is almost a similar game played in South Africa. In this game, children gather around and make a circle. Two players are appointed, one to play the role of Mbube (lion) while the other playing the impala. The two players are blindfolded. The aim of this game is to help the lion catch the impala. The selected players run after each other until the Mbube catches the impala. It is now clear that the games that children play depend on their environment, (Lakin, 1995). It would be unrealistic to introduce the “Mbube-Mbube” game to children in China, mainly because they probably have never seen a lion in real life as opposed to those kids in South Africa. It is therefore very important to understand the culture and the environment of the children that you work with.

Play is very essential in early childhood development. It plays a vital role in social, cognitive, emotional, and physical development, (Milteer et al, 2012). In a study conducted by Campbell, more than 15 million children in America live under the poverty line. As a result, they are denied the time, resources, and opportunity to exercise healthy play. Medical diagnoses show that most of these children perform very poorly in class, or end up developing different kinds of disabilities, (Campbell & Hesketh, 2007).

Childhood play is very essential in developing emotional and social ties, (Johnson et al., 1997). For example, a very common game played among children in East Africa, “Cha Mama Na Cha Baba,” is a game where two children take the roles of a father and a mother while the others taking roles of children. This game is very important since it helps the children understand the emotional and social ties in the “virtual family” that they come with. Children who get the privilege of playing this game are less likely to experience broken marriages or disrespect among the family members, (Lakin, 1995).

Childhood play also teaches children on their social duties and obligations. Taking the above example, the “mother” has to prepare “food” for the children. The father is the one who gathers the food and brings it home. The children are supposed to respect their parents. The game is a perfect example in this case. While playing this game, children understand the roles and obligations in society when they assume the positions they play in real life. The game acts like some sort of practical activity. In the same way that practical activities in the laboratory help us internalize concepts, the children also internalize life concepts. The Play also helps parents understand their children for a better upbringing. By watching children play, a keen adult should be able to identify weaknesses in children and help them overcome it, (Johnson et al., 1987).

As we have seen, games played differ with respect to culture and region. Therefore, it is important to accommodate all cultures when introducing games in the class which can be done by introducing new games, relevant to the current environment.

References.

Campbell K.J, Hesketh K.D. (2007). Strategies which aim to positively impact on weight, physical activity, diet and sedentary behaviors in children from zero to five years. A systematic review of the literature. Obes Rev.;8(4):327–338