Sharjah, May 03rd, 2013 (WAM) -- As part of the cultural programmes at the Sharjah Children?s Reading Festival, every evening various children-related topics are discussed by experts in different fields.
The discourse on ?Educational Games: Role and Reinforcement? took on a different mantle as Dr Ali Al Hammadi, an author and researcher from the UAE, Nahla Ghandour, a specialist in children with additional needs from Lebanon and John Row, Britain?s beloved poet and storyteller, contemplated the role of playing in a child?s overall development. The session was moderated by Asma Al Zarouni.
Dr Ali Al Hammadi discussed ways in which children are brought up, and stressed on the need for parents spend quality time with their children, reading or playing games with them.He also touched upon the need to give more prominence to games from an academic point of view. "Playing will enhance education," Dr Hammadi insisted. He applauded the more modern horse-shoe shaped arrangement of seats in classrooms, which allows children to be more interactive and less formal in class.
Nahla Ghandour, with decades of experience in working with disabled children behind her, had very strong views on the vital role of playing and games in the physical, emotional and cognitive development of a child. "When a child is unable to play for any reason, including physical disabilities, it leads to demoralisation," she said, drawing from her own experiences of having been a victim of polio from a very young age.Nahla Ghandour also spoke about the therapeutic value of games, especially when it comes to children with special needs. She explained how each small game that a child plays triggers a collusion of neurological reactions that affect the way a child grows up. "Skipping any part of that play would affect the overall development of the child," she concluded.
"Stories are a form of play," began John Row, who has worked in schools, colleges, prisons, museums, festivals and arts centers in the UK, USA, and Europe. He discussed how, in the course of inventing characters and stories while playing, a child is employing so many skills and faculties that it will eventually have a positive impact on his overall development. John Row too stressed on the therapeutic side of playing games and telling stories, drawing examples from his experience. He also spoke about his venture of encouraging prisoners to read out stories, which he would record for their children; an effort that has positive impact on both the parent and the child.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.
