Collaborative play is a great tool to develop your child holistically.
It will help them learn how to navigate society as they grow up.
Interacting with other children will only improve your child and there are many ways that collaborative play will benefit them.
Here’s how collaborative play can benefit your toddler.
Social Skills
The best way to integrate your child into society is to let them interact with their peers.
It can be difficult to teach your child concepts of how to behave as well as the differences in how they should speak to people.
By learning through example of what kind of behaviour is acceptable and what is not, they will be able to construct a code of conduct that they can understand.
The more friends they have, the easier it is for them to see how you need to speak to different people accordingly.
It will help them understand the responsibility of interacting with others.
This is not to say that your child should conform to the ways others behave.
By observing and interacting with others they can simply build their social skills to form their own concept of decent behaviour.
Manners
Children often say whatever they like.
When they are very young it seems cute, but eventually they need to learn manner lest they be labelled rude or worse, become mean.
In the same topic as social skills, learning how to be polite is a bit more niche but just as important.
It will probably also take longer for your child to learn proper manners.
There will be slip-ups and awkward situations along the way, so try to remember that your child is still learning.
Have some patience with them as they get the hang of things.
Teamwork
There are some games that you just cant play alone. Tag, Hide and Seek and I Spy may be the simplest games but they still require some teamwork.
If kids don’t work together, they wont be able to have fun.
Team work doesn’t necessarily mean they have to literally work together.
Being fair and not being a sore loser can often be more than enough to keep a group of friends together.
And if they also learn how to work together in the literal sense while playing, all the better.
Teamwork is essentially being able to achieve something together, and if all your toddler achieves is fun then that is more than good enough.
Conflict Resolution
Playing with other kids is never a smooth ride. There is bound to be a scuffle of sorts at some point or another.
When conflict occurs, your toddler can take at it as a learning opportunity for dissipating these fights. How to remain calm as well as calm others down, and being fair to avoid fights in the first place.
Resolving issues between toddlers is significantly easier than adults, but it still requires some skill.
The ability to be the voice of reason in a conflict is a tool that can be used in all aspects of life.
Conflict resolution is not just helpful in the outside world, it can be applied at home.
Fights between siblings, arguments with parents and even internal turmoil will be easier to deal with.
Kindness
Sometimes children can be cruel without meaning to be. By either words or actions, they can really hurt each others feelings.
Your toddler will learn kindness in many ways as they interact with other kids.
The first is by example, where they see how being treated kindly feels nice and aspire to treat others the same way.
The other way is not as wholesome, as they may see bullies and can have an example of how they shouldn’t act.
This is where you come in and tell them the difference between right and wrong.
Fun
The main point of collaborative play is to have fun.
Moral values and social skills aside, your toddler should be having as much fun as possible while they are young and carefree.
Collaborative play ensures your child not only gets enough playtime but enough exercise as well.
Children are more prone to participate in physical activity when they have company. Even if your child is shy, everything is more fun with friends.
They will have a good time while learning new things that they can apply in life.
Experience Is the Best Teacher
As you can see, collaborative play is great for your toddler.
They can learn a lot of things that neither you, a book, nor a teacher can teach.
Some things need to be experienced for them to obtain knowledge and playtime with friends is one of them.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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