Children during early childhood develop a multitude of types of games, but the game par excellence from 2 years to 7 years is the so-called symbolic game. This consists of a type of game that arises naturally, boys and girls imitate situations, objects and characters that are not present at the time, using various materials that are within their reach and developing their imagination capacity.
Despite the fact that the symbolic game is the game par excellence from the age of 2, it appears earlier specifically around 8 months with the pre-symbolic game. Normally, boys and girls carry out this type of activity because of their proximity to the situations raised (Pecci et al, s.f).
There are a lot of benefits to be found about the use of symbolic play in early childhood classrooms.
- Understand and assimilate the world around them, as well as the different roles established in the lives of adults (Pecci et al, s.f).
- Social skills, encouraging cooperation and socialization (Roldan, 2020).
- Problem solving and thus working on decision making (Roldan, 2020).
- Language development, since when carrying out the symbolic game they usually verbalize what they are doing (Pecci et al, s.f).
- Express your feelings through developing empathy and channeling of emotions (Roldan, 2020).
- Develop the imagination and creativity of children (Pecci et al, s.f).
Within the symbolic game we can find a great variety of games, such as playing kitchen, moms and dads, imitating different professions, animals, wearing costumes, among others (Mama Juana Banana, s.f).
References
Mama Juana Banana (s.f) El juego simbólico: ¿Qué es? Actividades y ejemplos. https://mamajuanabanana.com/el-juego-simbolico-que-es-actividades-y- ejemplos/
Pecci, Mª.C., Herrero, T., López, M. & Mozos, A. (s.f). El juego en el desarrollo infantil. En Mª.C. Pecci, T. Herrero, M. López & A. Mozos. (E.d) El juego infantil y su metodología. McGraw-Hill Interamericana de España. https://bit.ly/38YWAsG
Roldan, M.J. (2020, junio 11). Que es el juego simbólico: etapas y ejemplos. ParaBebés. https://bit.ly/3nGp3Ym
Authorship
Ana Ruiz Domingo, Tania Barrigón Ruiz y Nerea Agüera Rodríguez, 2020.