Children and Play: Understanding Children's Worlds

Peter K. Smith

Mar 2009 · Sold by John Wiley & Sons

About this ebook

The role of play in child development is a source of ongoing interest and debate. In this book, renowned expert Peter Smith offers an expansive definition of the term “play”, taking an in-depth look at its impact on children, as well as its adaptive value for birds and mammals, including primates.

Using both contemporary and classic research, Smith examines how different age groups and sexes participate in a wide variety of play, including exercise and rough-and- tumble play, fantasy play and imaginary friends, and play with objects. The book gauges the function of play in early childhood education and makes the case for and against recess breaks in school. How play occurs in different societies and among various populations – including children with special needs – is also explored.

With its comprehensive coverage of theoretical, historical, cross-cultural, and evolutionary perspectives, Children and Play holds significant insights for parents, educators, and clinicians.

Ratings and reviews

Was a textbook for a course and was way too expensive to buy a hardcopy so renting it was great! A great comprehensive read on play and in early childhood. It is 4 stars because of the formatting. I do a lot of on-the-go reading so it would have been nice to easily highlight and make notes in the mobile version.

About the author

Peter K. Smith is Professor of Psychology and Head of the Unit for School and Family Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is co-author of Understanding Children's Development and co-editor of The Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development and of The Nature of Play: Great Apes and Humans. He has written widely on children's play, especially pretend play training, and rough-and-tumble play.