Why kids love to play knight: Discover the benefits
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Kids have been playing knights for as long as anyone can remember. But why do children like to play knight?
Playing knight is one fantasy- and role play where children can live out their own imagination. Playing knight helps children discover their own limits and take their own responsibilities.
In this article I will tell you why children like to play knight and how you can best guide it.
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Why do children like to play knight?
Why do children like to play knight?
Children like to play knight because it is a game where they can play their creativity and thinking ability. The game offers the possibility to act self-directed and to give new impulses. But why do children like this game so much?
Exploring reality
Children are naturally curious and want to explore the world around them. By playing knight, they can explore reality and act out situations in a safe environment. This helps them to deal better with rules and to anticipate the reactions of others.
Social development
Playing knight is also important for the social development of children. The game requires cooperation and the involvement of others. Children learn to take into account the individual performance of others and to be fair. Playing knight can also help you deal with emotions and react to different situations.
Pedagogical value
Developmental psychologists, such as Vygotsky, have written about the pedagogical value of role-playing games such as playing knights. Playing knights can have a beneficial effect on the psychological development of young children. It can help develop their thinking skills and increase their motivation.
Game Guidance
As an employee in education, it is important to guide children in playing knight. It is important to provide guidelines and help the children to verbalize their actions and ideas. Involving the children's voices can also help generate new impulses and prevent the game from getting stuck. It is important to anticipate potential problems and to provide help and materials when needed.
What are Role Playing Games?
What are Role Playing Games?
Role playing is a very important aspect of children's play development. Every child develops in his own way and at his own pace. Role-playing games are mainly known for the imaginative play that children play, but it actually applies to any age.
Going through phases
Children go through different stages in their development. At a young age, they mainly play with symbolic toys, such as blocks and stacking toys. As they grow older, there is a need to shape their fantasy play. This can be done, for example, by playing knight, mother or doctor.
Adopt language and meaning
In role-playing games, children take on language and meaning from the adults around them. For example, they learn how to shop, bake, serve, sell and eat. This can be done in a playful way, where children are absorbed in their role and really absorbed in their play.
Flexible customization
An important question in role-playing is how you, as a teacher or parent, can best guide the game. It appears that flexibly adjusting the rules of the game and encouraging the input of children is an effective way to promote optimal game development.
Specific linguistic concepts
It is important to look at the specific linguistic concepts associated with role play. For example, children may not yet know certain concepts and it is necessary to explain them in detail before they can start taking on roles.
Sizes and instruments
There are several ways to guide role-playing games. For example, you can use measures and instruments to structure the game and note what happens. You can also teach children to set rules and adapt them to the situation.
Are swords good to play with?
Are swords good to play with?
Swords are one of the most popular toy weapons for children playing knights. Playing with swords can be very valuable for children's personal development.
Constructive and community play
Playing with swords is not only an activity where children can express their impulses, but it can also be a constructive activity where they learn to control their emotions. It can also be a community game where children learn to cooperate and communicate with others.
Advice for parents
As a parent, it is important to involve your child in sword play planning and ideas. Michael, a child development expert, says parents should let their children vote on what materials and resources they want to use for play. In addition, it is important to pay attention to safety and to teach children how to play safely with swords.
Pay attention to safety
It is important to teach children that swords are not for hitting other children or adults. If a child threatens to hit another child, it is important to intervene immediately and show the child how to play with swords safely.
Banning swords doesn't work
Banning playing with swords often doesn't work. Children often want to play with swords anyway and if parents forbid it, this can lead to boredom and the search for other ways to enjoy themselves. In addition, research shows that playing with swords can play an important role in the development of children.
No injuries while playing
Although playing with swords can sometimes lead to fights, research shows that playing with swords rarely causes injuries. Children are often able to articulate and use the correct form and actions during play.
Swords in different ages
Playing with swords can already start in the toddler phase, where children use blocks and lids as swords, for example. As the child grows, playing with swords can continue to develop. For example, playing with swords in toddlers can be combined with playing with a doll that supposedly gets a drink from a cup.
Learned from adults
Playing with swords is often a way of playing that children have copied from adults, for example from knights in films or books. In addition, playing with swords can also be learned from other children at school or in the neighborhood.
What kind of knight toys are there?
When children play knights, they naturally want the right toys to bring their imaginations to life. There are different types of knight toys available, from very simple to luxurious.
Knight helmets
An important part of the knight's costume is the knight's helmet. There are different types of helmets available, from very simple to very detailed and beautiful. Some examples are:
- A silver colored helmet about 30 cm long, which looks like a copy of a medieval knight's helmet.
- A gray helmet with darker gray rectangles on it, which looks like a tough knight helmet.
- A luxurious knight's helmet with colorful feathers that looks like it's straight out of the Middle Ages.
Other knight accessories
In addition to the helmet, clothing and shield, other knight accessories are available, such as swords, spears and axes. Complete knight costumes are also available, including all accessories.
It is good to know that specialized toy makers rarely make knight toys. It is usually part of the overall range of general toy makers. In the Middle Ages it was potters who made pots and pans, furniture makers who made wooden toys, wood turners who made spinning tops and hoops and wheelwrights who made means of transport.
Whether you have a specific preference for a certain way of playing knights or just like to be in the world of knights, there is always something that suits you. It's a great way to blissfully spend hours on end in your own fantasy world, both indoors and outdoors with friends. Even if you're well past XNUMX and locked in a cubicle, playing knight can still leave you wanting to go back to the days when you stood bent over a toy shield and rampaged like a real knight.
There are plenty of people who LARP :)
Is playing knight good for development?
Playing knights is one of many ways children can develop their social and emotional skills. The game offers a safe and playful environment in which children can learn to deal with rules, anticipate reactions from others and take into account the feelings of others.
Playing knight helps to explore reality
Playing knights is a way for children to explore and understand reality. Playing with swords and shields allows children to express and better understand their own feelings and emotions. Playing knight can also help reduce problems and fears of young children.
Playing knight promotes social skills
Playing knights is a social activity in which children learn to work together and make friends. By playing together, children learn to be fair and consider the feelings of others. They also learn to react to the actions of others and to anticipate the reactions of adults.
Conclusion
Playing knight is one of the most popular role-playing games for children and it stimulates imagination and creativity. It helps them develop their thinking skills and manage their emotions better.
If your child likes to play knight, make sure they can use swords safely and help them to stimulate their imagination and creativity.
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.