Corter – self-regulation and dramatic play

The relationship between play and self-regulation is complicated because it’s a coming together of two things, which in themselves are quite complex and important for young children for lifelong development. 

Play is also a complex and rich world that children are part of. It’s what they do. It’s a natural course of development from infancy right into childhood, and it’s a very powerful medium for learning and development if we can shape it properly. We’re learning more about what needs to be there for children in play environments in order to become better self-regulated. We know for example that certain types of play are structured in a way that allow children to explore roles through dramatic play for example, can be powerful spurs to the development of flexibility, working memory, children staying in roles, not stepping out of their roles helps them practice inhibition. So, these are sort of core self-regulation skills that we think are actually being developed in the dramatic play of children, and there’s a number of lines of research that convinces that play is important for young children, and helps in the development of self-regulation.