Socioeconomic status plays a tremendous role in the act of play during childhood. When children come for low SES families, the resources the children have available are slim to none, or they could have very few appropriate manipulatives to play with. Often times, children learn to play with their peers based upon their natural surrounding. According to “Play=Learning” it states “The socioeconomic status (SES) of children’s families is one of the strongest predictors of performance differences in children entering school” (Singer, Golinkoff, Hirsch-Pasek, 2006). Teachers often track students from different SES categories, which starts at the early childhood stages all the way through late childhood and beyond.
Children often gain social and play skills through their parents and other influential adults. According to “Children’s Play”, children who are from inner-city schools tend to come from low SES families and the resources are limited in the schools and early childhood facilities (2005). In children who are young the influence of “replica” play is very important. If children see their parents or other adults doing negative forms of recreation and play, the children will tend to act out those forms of play, because they believe these types of play are appropriate (2005). If children from low SES do not learn the correct forms of play from early childhood development all the way up through late childhood many skills will be lost. There are many forms of interventions, like Head Start programs. These programs provide care and assistance for children who come from low SES families. It is a chance for the children to gain a better grasp on what appropriate play consists of.
Works Cited
Naudeau, S., Ponte, I., Salonius-Pasternak, D., Scarlett, G. 2005. Children’s Play. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA
Singer, D., Golinkoff, R., Hirsch-Pasek, K. (2006). Play=Learning. Oxford University Press: New York, NY.
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