Infant playing activities and their possibilities

Abstract

Playing activities have always been present in children’s lives contributing to their development. With this in mind, we have sought to understand the meaning, the possibilities and controversies of games from different points of view. Through a bibliographical review, a definition was established for such terms as game, play and toy so as to understand the matter more clearly. Then its evolution was analyzed in different stages of the child development from the viewpoint of authors such as Piaget and Vygotski, followed by a study of toys as objects and their qualities, attempting to understand child playing activities nowadays in view of the subordination to industrialization and technological progress. The benefits of playing activities and the damages of their absence are among the points emphasized. Opportunities to exercise these activities in all the different phases of his/her life must be offered to the child so as to meet his/her intrinsic needs. It should be made clear that the contact with a variety of toys stimulates the child’s action, representation and imagination, helping him/her to overcome different barriers and providing a development of creativity.