Which play problem behaviours are easiest to identify?

  • the girl who wanders around the room?
  • the girl dabbling with dolls in the water?
  • the boy who appears anxious at the back of the room?
  • the girl being ignored by the other children?
  • the boy being rejected after grabbing a toy from other student?

When you have encountered these behaviours in your own experiences with children, how have you reacted?
If you viewed these behaviours as problems, what have you done to work with these children?
If you didn't think of these behaviours as problems, how did you respond?
What causes challenging behaviour?

The causes of challenging behaviour are extremely complex and intricately interconnected. Research does show, however, that certain factors increase a child’s risk for developing challenging behaviour. The factors fall into two broad categories, biological and environmental.

Biological Risk Factors

  • pregnancy complications, prenatal stress, premature birth, birth trauma, and -congenital defects
  • developmental delays, especially language delays
  • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • temperament
  • gender
  • smoking, drug use, alcohol consumption during pregnancy

Environmental Risk Factors

  • poverty and social conditions related to poverty
  • exposure to violence
  • parenting style and family factors
  • viewing violence on television and other media
  • low quality child care

Reasons for Play Problems

Lack of Experience

  • a child who is very young may have limited experience with play or play materials
  • children with special needs may have a lack of experience related to their condition
  • children coming from a structured home or preschool may not have been exposed to choices with learning materials
  • children may lack experience dealing with peers

Lack of Ability

  • physical/emotional/cognitive challenges may present a barrier to play
  • speech, language, sensory or motor deficits may affect a child's ability to interact with materials or other children

Lack of Psychosocial Stability

  • a child's home environment is the foundation for his/her sense of well-being
  • instability due to death, divorce, illness, marital conflict, abuse or poverty affects a child's ability to function in peer or group settings
  • sometimes children experiencing these stresses do not trust new situations, new adults, or new peer groups

Lack of Stimulation at Home

  • across the economic spectrum, there are homes where play is not valued
  • sometimes parents are unstable or uninterested in fostering creative play
  • children are allowed and encouraged to spend many hours passively watching television, instead of playing

Lack of Enriched Environment at School

  • if a child's environment doesn't offer play opportunities that match his/her abilities or interests, he/she will not join in with enthusiasm
  • "I'm bored" is a red flag - signaling a need to examine the environment

Some Play Problems are Not Really Problems

  • all children occasionally exhibit some play problem behaviours
  • children who are overtired or becoming ill may not play successfully
  • knowledge of the child - knowledge of child development will permit you to distinguish when you are observing a play problem
  • behaviours which signal play problems in older children may well be developmentally appropriate for younger children to exhibit