Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Rough and Tumble Play
Force creation and stability at the time of projection
Defining the Concept and Its Importance
There are many factors that influence the way a child develops. One of these factors is the way a child will play. Play helps children develop motor, cognitive, and social skills. Different types of play have different impacts on these domains of development, and children engage in many different types of play. One form of play that a child can partake in is rough and tumble play. Rough and tumble play can also be described as play fighting, which can involve wrestling, hitting, chasing, or any kind of playful attack and defense (Tannok, 2008). An important distinction of rough and tumble play compared to aggression is that this type of play has the goal of being social, not to injure (DiPietro, 1981). This type of play is usually engaged in primarily by the father and son in early childhood but becomes less frequent after age ten (Macdonald & Parke, 1986). When a father and son participate in rough and tumble play together, it can create a bond and a sense of warmth (StGeorge, Goodwin, & Fletcher, 2018). Having a that bond with a father is helpful for child development as well, so rough and tumble play is important as it facilitates that relationship. Rough and tumble play also happens between children through the early years of school; it is a form of cooperative play among children. Some say rough and tumble play may lead to aggression, but it is still allowed within restrictions at schools and in the home is because it is important for child development.
Rough and tumble play allows children to develop motor skills and social skills; it teaches them boundaries, self-control and compassion (Tannock, 2008). It is important for children to learn the boundaries of their strength in this type of play as it allows them to be aware of their motor capacity; they learn how much force they can produce and the consequences of that. Learning self-control in the midst of rough and tumble play will be helping them develop motor control of their limbs, improving gross motor skills. Self-control in rough and tumble play can also be in regard to their emotional regulation. They are learning to discern between playful competition and aggressive fighting. Compassion will help them develop social connections; play fighting can be beneficial for sociality as it encourages interaction between peers (Pellis & Pellis, 2007). It is important to facilitate rough and tumble play for children as they are able to learn the capacity of their strength, develop motor control, and develop socially in this form of play.
Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations
Rough and tumble play (RTP) is a type of play with some opposing views. One thing that makes this type of play semi-controversial is that it can be hard to discern between what is play and what is aggression when observing children play fighting, especially as it is easy for things to escalate to anger due to the high stimulation it entails (DiPietro, 1981). It becomes hard for teachers or parents to know when RTP becomes more aggressive than playful, and when they need to intervene to avoid injuries. There has been research and developments on the appropriate responses to children’s RTP, including rules that state no harm can be inflicted, no pushing, no kicking, and no hitting (Tannock, 2008). These guidelines ensure that the children do not hurt each other as they are partaking in RTP. Another cue that teachers or parents can look for to make sure RTP isn’t going too far is the facial expressions of the children involved (Tannock, 2008). This means that a child should have an expression of enjoyment while playing, not anger or pain. Seeing an expression of anger or pain could mean it is time to intervene and stop the children from potentially hurting one another. With these guidelines in place, teachers and parents can let RTP occur with less worry of injury.
The distinction between RTP and aggressive play is particularly hard for teachers with children on the playground. Even with some of the guidelines listed above, teachers have found it difficult to know how to manage it, as they might be liable if any injury were to occur (Peterson et al., 2018). A lot of teachers are not aware of the positive outcomes of RTP, and when informed on this the teachers were interested in learning more about it and having more guidelines set on their role in facilitating and managing this type of play (Peterson et al., 2018; Tannock, 2008). In a study conducted by Peterson et al. (2018), it was found that RTP also varies by culture and it is important to take the sociocultural backgrounds of the children playing into account before deciding which types of RTP should be allowed and not allowed in a school setting.
Another aspect of RTP that has many views on it is the interaction between fathers and their children with this type of play. There have been many studies that have researched RTP. These studies include; the potential influences RTP may have on aggression in later years; the parents’ view on RTP; research discussing the possible developmental outcomes of RTP. A study by StGeorge & Freeman (2017) found little links between physical play from father to child relationships and aggression, but positive links of physical play and social competency and emotional skills. This shows that as a child participates in RTP with their father, it does not mean they will show aggression in later life or towards other people. Learning social competence through RTP with a father enhances a child’s quality and quantity of play with other children, as well as their emotional regulation and playfulness of the child (StGeorge & Freeman, 2017). While RTP may be beneficial for a child’s development, some parents are still unsure if it is appropriate. Some view RTP between father and child as fostering sociability and confidence, while others view RTP as something that could cause anti-social behaviour in social settings (StGeorge, Goodwin, & Fletcher, 2018). A study conducted by Flanders et al. (2010) deducted that the positive outcomes of father-child physical play relied on the amount of time the father would be dominant during play and the overall relationship and time the father spent with his child. Further, the study found in this study that the father needed to be more dominant to demonstrate self-control and emotional regulation in respect to calming down when the play got out of hand. While there are some concerns with father and child RTP, there are boundaries and guidelines that research has shown to be acceptable that will promote many positive developmental outcomes for a child.
Overall, research shows that there should be more education and guidelines set out for teachers and parents in order to achieve a clear consensus of the benefits and appropriate management of RTP to achieve the full potential of positive developmental outcomes associated with this play behaviour.
Practical Applications
Activity 1
Title: Cat and Mouse
Purpose statement: The purpose of this activity is to encourage motor, cognitive, and social skill development among young kids. As stated in sections 1 and 2, rough and tumble play activities have a positive effect on the development of all these phases and provide a fun way of doing it for young kids. The key areas of motor skills that involve this game are chasing, and playful attack/defense skills, which as explained earlier above are known to help in child development. Having one kid chase the other will allow both children to work on their balance and change of direction skills which are key to have especially for sport participation later in life. As we go into the details of the game further below in Instructions, this activity allows the children involved to not only work on their gross motor skills, but it also allows them to develop self-control as the name of the game is not to be violent, but graceful in a sense. Parents can implement this game at home, just as day care guardians can in their space.
Target age: 6-10
Apparatus/equipment needed and environmental space/set-up: No equipment needed, but must have access to large amount of space, preferably outside (backyard or park). This is to allow a safe amount of space for the children to run around in where there are little obstacles to run into which could cause injury.
Instructions: The instructions are quite simple which makes this game very practical for families with children all over the world. It is a two-person game, where one child will be designated as the cat, while the other is designated as the mouse. The whole point of the game is for the cat to chase and grab the mouse. Once the mouse is caught, the roles then switch and the process starts again. The key here is to instruct the children participating not to tackle the mouse which could cause harm, but once in range of the mouse the cat is to wrap up the mouse almost in a hugging fashion.
Modifications: Some kids may be only children so it may make this game difficult to play unless they are with friends, which brings the role of the parent into the equation. The great thing about this game, is that a parent can easily participate with his/her child and play as the cat or mouse.
Activity 2
Title: Sumo Slam
Purpose statement: The purpose of this game is similar to the first activity in that it looks to help kids with their motor skill development in the act of running and jumping, but to also enhance their social skills and self-awareness while doing it. There will be a lot of running back and forth as well as jumping movements in this game which will only help children in their development. As stated in the above sections, playfighting and hitting are important aspects of kid’s motor skills progress. The act of bumping into one another will get the children familiar with physical contact in a healthy way, and will leave them feeling comfortable in similar situations later in life. All physical contact is not bad, as long as the parents are close to supervise and give the kids clear instructions not to be too aggressive. That is the other important duty of this game, it will teach the children self-control. Just as it is stated in the previous two sections, rough and tumble play offers a safe environment for kids to learn boundaries and compassion. By trying to control their aggressiveness, they will learn valuable lessons about self-control and respect for others while having fun doing it.
Target age: 6-8
Apparatus/equipment needed and environmental space/set-up: The equipment needed for this game can be found in abundance in a home, a pillow. One pillow for each participant or more if they want additional protection. This game is ok to be played inside in bedrooms or living rooms as long as there is enough space for kids to bang into each other safely and under supervision.
Instructions: The instructions for this game are simple as well and first require that each child has one or two pillows. The children will then put the pillows underneath their shirts which is effectively their protection. What follows next is the fun part, the kids will then begin to run into each other in waves over and over, bumping tummies gently. It is important that a parent supervises this to ensure that things do not get too aggressive, and that they debrief the kids before the game starts to ensure it is clear to not play too rough.
Modifications: Like the first game there is a version that allows for kids to play with their parents if there are no other children around. In this case the parent would follow the same process of armoring up with a pillow, but to decrease the chances of injury the parent would go on his/her knees and remain stationary, allowing the kid to run into them. What is special about this version is not only will the child work to develop various motor skills, it will also facilitate a healthy development of the relationship between the parent and child. Earlier in the sections above we talked about how rough and tumble play can lead to an increase feeling of warmth and respect to your fellow participant, which in this case will only be beneficial down the road for parent – children relationships.
Summary
Rough and tumble play is play involving physical contact in games such as attack and defence, play fighting, wrestling, and chasing. Rough and tumble play is physical, but the outcome of this type of play is not for aggression or to cause injury to others but to socialize during play. Rough and tumble play provides many benefits for children, such as developing self-control, compassion, cooperation, learning boundaries, and facilitating motor control and social skills. Rough and tumble play is important for children as it allows them to learn about their capabilities around strengths, force production while developing motor control.
References
DiPietro, J. A. (1981). Rough and tumble play: A function of gender. Developmental Psychology, 17(1), 50-58. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.17.1.50
Flanders, J. L., Simard, M., Paquette, D., Parent, S., Vitaro, F., Pihl, R. O., & Seguin, J. R. (2010). Rough-and-tumble play and the development of physical aggression and emotion regulation: A five-year follow-up study. Journal of Family Violence, 25(4), 357-367. DOI: 10.1007/s10896-009-9297-5
Macdonald, K., & Parke, R. D. (1986). Parent-child physical play: The effects of sex and age of children and parents. Sex Roles, 15(7-8), 367-378. DOI: 10.1007/BF00287978
Pellis, S., & Pellis, V. (2007) Rough and tumble play in the development of the social brain. Current Directions in Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 16(2), 95-98. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00483.x
Peterson, S. S., Madsen, A., Miguel, J. S., & Jan, S. Y. (2018). Children’s rough and tumble play: perspectives of teachers in northern Canadian Indigenous communities. Early years, 38(1), 53-67. DOI: 10.1080/09575146.2016.1219844
StGeorge. J. & Freeman, E. (2017) Measurement of father-child rough-and-tumble play and its relations to child behaviour. Infant Mental Health Journal, 38(6), 709-725. DOI: 10.1002/imhf.21676
StGeorge, J. M., Goodwin, J. C., & Fletcher, R. J. (2018). Parents’ views of father-child rough-and-tumble play. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(5), 1502-1512. DOI: 10.1007/s10826-017-0993-0
Tannock, M. T. (2008). Rough and tumble play: An investigation of the perceptions of educators and young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 357-361. DOI: 10.1007/s10643-007-0196-1