[Source: Science Daily]

Play is a crucial part of a child’s development. It is how children develop cognitive skills and learn new information as well as social skills and it is an important topic of research by social scientists.

Dr Pete King, who specialises in play and childhood studies, devised a method of studying the process of children’s play — the Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM) — and has now published research which demonstrates how effective it is as an observational tool.

Working with collaborators Professor LaDonna Atkins and Dr Brandon Burr, his latest study put the PCOM to the test in real time by watching three-year-olds at play using an observation booth at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Child Study Centre.

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