Buiten gat
Blog 21 June 2024

Playing together, growing together

Hein enters the classroom and asks Michelle: ‘Are you going to out-of-school care today too?’ ‘Yes,’ says Michelle and both children happily sit down on their chairs. Hein and Michelle don’t play much with each other at school, but they walk hand in hand to the out-of-school care location together. They’ve found a buddy in each other, which gives them a sense of security.

Safety

Examples like the one about Hein and Michelle are not uncommon in childcare. A feeling of safety ensures that children are not afraid to make social contacts. And in these social contacts they’re challenged to develop themselves. Social contacts are therefore very important, but how does out-of-school care play a role in this?

Making contact as a first step

At the out-of-school care location, there’s plenty of room to play together and to develop the necessary social and emotional skills. Children from the age of about four increasingly seek each other out in their play. They discover that you need other children for many games. Playing shop is much more fun when someone comes to buy something from you, and playing train conductor is more fun when there are people on the train you can take somewhere.

Individual development needs

Some children may find it challenging to make contact with other children, while others may have difficulty deciding what to play together. All children are seen and heard and the pedagogical staff support the children in their individual developmental needs. Because many children go to the out-of-school care location every day, they learn how to make and maintain contact with children with all sorts of different characters, backgrounds, values and norms. The social emotional skills they develop meanwhile are of great importance for their future development and society.

Three tips for practising social skills during team play

  • Encourage contact with other children. By playing with different children, they learn different skills.
  •  If playing together isn’t going well, don’t try to intervene immediately. Encourage them to try and solve problems themselves as well as possibly by talking. Don’t take sides, teach your child to stand up for himself/herself, but also to consult with others and come to a solution together.
  • Stay informed about what’s going on. Especially with children who play outside independently, you don’t always know what’s going on. Go and watch them from time to time, play with them and try (during dinner, for instance) to ask open questions, without judgement.