The importance of games and play in Early Childhood Education

This work is a bibliographical research with qualitative analysis, whose objective is to discuss and report the importance of games and play in early childhood education, for the integral development of the child, both in physical aspects and in social and psychosocial aspects. To carry out the same, research was carried out in the Capes, Scielo and Google Scholar databases, and authors such as Piaget (1973), Winnicott (1975) and Vygotsky (1984) were also used, among others. Since many professionals have difficulty understanding the playful universe and the importance of games and play for the integral development of the child, there is a need to train educators, guide parents and society on the importance of working with play in childhood and that play is part of a pleasurable learning process, not just leisure for the child.