play [AS, plegan, sport] , any spontaneous or organized activity that provides enjoyment, entertainment, amusement, or diversion. It is essential in childhood for the development of a normal personality and as a means for physical, intellectual, and social development. Play provides an outlet for releasing tension and stress, as well as a means for testing and experimenting with new or fearful roles or situations. It is an indispensable part of the nursing care of children, especially in the hospital. It helps relieve the tension and anxiety of being in unfamiliar surroundings and separated from parents, and it gives the child a sense of security and a means of expressing fears and fantasies. Play also offers the nurse one of the most effective methods of communicating with and gaining the trust of the child and helping him or her to understand treatments and procedures. Kinds include active play, associative play, cooperative play, dramatic play, parallel play, passive play, skill play, solitary play. See also play therapy.
