Play is important to a toddler's development because it helps the child develop skills that they will learn while growing up, such as social skills, language, emotional maturity, physical coordination and cognitive. "play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth." (Lockhart, 2010).
From an infant to a toddler a child is learning self-reliance through play and it helps the child learn about the physical world and how it works and learn problem solving skills. The social skills that a child learns through play is strengthening their the relationship and interaction between them and their peers.
Language developed through play for a toddler they began the jabbing and use gestures, and the slowly began to use words to communicate. Play in the sense of emotional maturity, it teaches the child how to build relationships through self confidence and self esteem. When a child occupy themselves in physical play this helps the child with their physical coordination.
A child's cognitive development through play helps a child express their feelings and thoughts along with cultural and social understandings. Practice alphabets, numbers, colors, and shapes.