On the morning of May 18, 2019, the Vietnam-Finland International School (VFIS) organized a workshop “Playing with children”. The presentation was led by MA. Nguyen Tran Nghi Tue, Educational Expert from York University (Canada) with 15 years of experience in research and teaching in the field of infantile psychosis.
During the workshop, participants learned about the true role of playing with their children in each family. Playing with children is not only an act of building a strong and sustainable relationship between parents and children but also helps parents understand their child(ren)’s personality. In addition, playing with children helps children develop communication skills as well as problem solving skills in the family. Playing with children is also an effective way to reduce stress for parents when being able to observe the world through the lens of children once again.
Maria Montessori, an Italian therapist and educator who once said: "Play is a child's work". Accordingly, children from birth are always active and learning through everyday fun with three characteristics: Curiosity motivates children to expand their knowledge; Mischief makes children more active and creative; and Collaboration helps children confidently communicate with people around them.
According to MA. Nguyen Tran Nghi Tue, a playing session with children is "quality" when it meets all the factors: dynamic, imaginative, process-focused, children lead the game and are given the right to choose. The speaker also analyzed one of the fundamental nowadays mistakes when parents play with their children is focusing too much on the "output of the game"; and leading the game instead of giving children the autonomy when playing with them.
The workshop Playing with children with lots of practical and up-to-date knowledge helps participants realize the importance of playing with their children as well as the ways to have meaningful moments with their children, especially in current life that is hard to balance between work and family.
Some pictures of the Workshop:
