Educational games as a leading pedagogical tool for teaching safe behaviour to preschool children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31652/3041-2439-2026-5-9Keywords:
didactic game, safe behaviour, preschool children, guided game, conscious riskAbstract
The article theoretically substantiates and practically outlines the possibilities of using didactic games as a leading pedagogical tool for teaching safe behaviour to preschool children. The relevance of the problem is due to the combination of society’s demand for the prevention of childhood injuries and the need to preserve the potential of children's independence as a driving force for development. In practice, there is often a conflict between excessive adult control and the need to teach children to assess situations, choose safe behavioural strategies, seek help and coordinate actions with their peers. The purpose of this article is to highlight how didactic games facilitate the transition from declarative knowledge of rules to their application in real and simulated situations of everyday life. The theoretical basis of the study is the analysis of scientific sources, comparison of approaches to understanding play and research into ways of using it as a pedagogical tool. The theoretical provisions regarding the relationship between the concepts of «play activity» and «play» are clarified, and the place of didactic play in the system of games organised by adults for the purpose of teaching preschool children is outlined. Ukrainian and foreign studies of guided play and the phenomenon of «risky play» are analysed, proving the importance of the balance between protection and the acquisition of safe behaviour skills by preschoolers. It has been proven that didactic play, combining educational goals, structure (rules, sequence of actions) and game motivation, creates a safe space for trial and error in the acquisition of safe behaviour by preschool children. The practical result is the selection and description of a set of didactic games aimed at helping older preschoolers recognise dangerous situations, classify objects by level of danger, correlate rules with situations, and practise an algorithm of actions (stop – move away – call an adult) in everyday life and social interaction. Prospects for further research are related to the study of individual differences in the assimilation of safe behaviour rules in play.References
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