The process of a child’s development goes hand in hand with playing, which will stimulate children to learn new things. Sitting, walking, talking, skipping and understanding the world around them are all skills that the child needs to master. Children learn these skills during predictable time periods; we call them developmental milestones.

BRIO hand out a prize every year to someone who has contributed a lot to the pedagogic field and research in child development.

The 2007 BRIO award goes to David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University in the US. He is internationally known and recognized as one of the leading advocates for the preservation of childhood. David Elkin is also the author of the best selling classic The Hurried child and The Power of Play.

In “The Power of Play” David Elkind says that the young infant and young child responds best to self directed activities, activities that to us as adults might seem meaningless. Children are naturally curious and will explore. We are not born knowing what things are sweet and what are sour or what is blue and what is red. The closest analogy for this would be visiting a foreign country, particularly with a culture very different to our own. Young children create learning experiences through play.