The Meaning of Games You can find out a lot about your child by watching and listening to him play. Clues to new skills and developing intelligence can be found in the games he makes up with his toys. Does he sort them into groups, add voices to figures, re-enact events that recently took place and test the properties of object? If so, what does that tell you about his development?
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PLAY How your child plays is more revealing than you might think. The way he handles his toys can tell you whether he's mastering the cognitive tasks appropriate for his age. For instance, he might make a square out of blocks - a sort of room. In the room, he places a girl doll. "Go home," he says as he brings the boy doll up. "Knock, knock! Come in!" he says as he pushes one block aside to let the boy doll enter the room. The two dolls embrace. In that scene, the child demonstrated his ability to use symbolic play, which brings out imitation, which, in turn, shows that he understands how his world works. Even a small bit of behaviour like this confirms all kinds of accomplishments.
