Almost all sorts of play involve some sort of locomotor movement. What distinguishes locomotor play is that it is physically vigorous, whereby metabolic rate observed during this sort of play is well above resting metabolic rate (Simons-Morton, 1990). Subtypes of locomotor play includes exercise play and rough-and-tumble play. Benefits of locomotor play is suggested to be immediate (Pellegrini & Smith, 1998b).
Exercise play includes running, jumping, swimming and climbing. Such play starts at around the end of first year of life, and peaks at about 4 to 5 years old, which corresponds with the period of growth of arm and leg muscles and bones (Tanner, 1970). Exercise play has immediate benefits for development of motor skills, and may even …show more content…
Pellegrini & Smith (1998a) considered the function of rough-and-tumble play to be primarily social, as successful rough-and-tumble play needs participants to be proficient in signaling and decoding social signs.
Rough-and-tumble play also have a function in understanding social roles and identifying social standing, especially for males. Children identify social standing between peers by asserting dominance through a playful setting. Alternating roles are often observed during such play-sometimes a child is being pinned down, and other times the same child is pinning down the partner. Such alternating roles are required for successful social interactions in adult situations as well, where one alternates between speaking and listening during conversation.
Significant gender differences exist for rough-and-tumble play. Males engage in such play more frequently than females, across cultures and species (Pellegrini & Smith, 1998a). If rough-and-tumble play holds an important role in social development, we should then see a difference in social competence between girls and boys. However, we do not see such a difference, suggesting that social developmental benefits of rough-and-tumble play can be attained via other plays or
Exercise play includes running, jumping, swimming and climbing. Such play starts at around the end of first year of life, and peaks at about 4 to 5 years old, which corresponds with the period of growth of arm and leg muscles and bones (Tanner, 1970). Exercise play has immediate benefits for development of motor skills, and may even …show more content…
Pellegrini & Smith (1998a) considered the function of rough-and-tumble play to be primarily social, as successful rough-and-tumble play needs participants to be proficient in signaling and decoding social signs.
Rough-and-tumble play also have a function in understanding social roles and identifying social standing, especially for males. Children identify social standing between peers by asserting dominance through a playful setting. Alternating roles are often observed during such play-sometimes a child is being pinned down, and other times the same child is pinning down the partner. Such alternating roles are required for successful social interactions in adult situations as well, where one alternates between speaking and listening during conversation.
Significant gender differences exist for rough-and-tumble play. Males engage in such play more frequently than females, across cultures and species (Pellegrini & Smith, 1998a). If rough-and-tumble play holds an important role in social development, we should then see a difference in social competence between girls and boys. However, we do not see such a difference, suggesting that social developmental benefits of rough-and-tumble play can be attained via other plays or