ABSTRACT
When a child starts infant school at 5 some parents are inclined to grumble because they think that their child is playing about too much and not working. When a job is easy we say it’s ‘child’s play’. Frowning on child’s play has a long history perhaps stemming from the Protestant work ethic. John Wesley warned that, ‘He who plays as a boy will play as a man’ but exploration and play possibly help a child’s brain to develop by improving his language and intellect, by extending his physical skills and by preparing the ground for the initiation of emotional relationships. The experiences gained through play must be stored in the brain cells as part of a child’s ‘model of the world’, an idea elaborated in chapter 10. The brain’s model developed through experience will help a person to make predictions and also decisions about the situations likely to be encountered.
