Catch, or playing catch, is one of the most basic

children's games This is a list of games that used to be played by children, some of which are still being played today. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games but do include games which require props such as hopscotch ...

, often played between children or between a

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

and child, wherein the participants

throw Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensil ...

a ball, beanbag,

flying disc A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitiv ...

or similar object back and forth to each other. At early stages in a child's life, having a catch is a good way to evaluate and improve the child's physical coordination.Berry Brazelton, Margaret A. Kenna, ''The Children's Hospital Guide to Your Child's Health and Development'' (2001), p. 224. . Notably, " a child cannot catch a ball that he or she is bouncing, it is unlikely the child will be able to play catch". Most children begin to be able to play catch around the age of four. Many four-year-olds instinctively close their eyes when a ball is heading towards them, and it can take some time to overcome this. Playing catch can help develop dexterity, coordination and confidence. Because playing catch requires at least two participants, and because participants can be substituted at any point during the game, catch can be used to place children in social situations where they will interact with each other. For example, this can be done by first having one child play catch with an adult, and then bringing other children into the game or substituting another child for the adult, at which point the adult can leave entirely.Natalie Elman,

Eileen Kennedy-Moore Eileen Kennedy-Moore is a Princeton, New Jersey-based clinical psychologist and the author or co-author of books for parents, children, and mental health professionals. She serves on the advisory board for ''Parents'' magazine and blogs about chil ...

, ''The Unwritten Rules of Friendship: Simple Strategies to Help Your Child Make Friends'' (2008), p. 133. . As children become more adept at the skills used to catch a thrown object and return it to the thrower, these skills are incorporated into more complex games played with larger groups of participants, such as hot potato,

dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sport in which players on two teams try to throw balls and hit opponents, while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, cat ...

, and

keep away Keep Away, also called Monkey in the Middle, Piggy in the Middle, Pickle in a Dish, or Pickle in the Middle, or Monkey, is a children's game in which two or more players must pass a ball to one another, while a player in the middle attempts to i ...

. Playing catch can improve an aptitude for sports that involve catching and throwing, such as

bat-and-ball sports Bat-and-ball games (or safe haven games) are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe ar ...

, football, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

References

Children's games Games of physical skill {{sport-stub

See also

References