Note: The term parent is used to represent any person who plays an active role in the care and development of a child, including biological parents, guardians, caregivers, or other trusted adults.
Right from the start, we parents seek ways to help our children grow and be healthy. We look for advice on ways to make sure our child has a strong start in life. There is a great deal of information available to any parent. Maybe you have an infant, or a toddler and you feel overwhelmed by all the information on the things you “must” do to build your baby’s brain power. Is it five books a week or three books a day? Is it jazz or classical music? Maybe you’ve heard that your preschooler should be reading or practicing the alphabet or working with numbers. Maybe you’ve heard that they should be engaging in more focused efforts with sports or other organized activities. You want to help your child, but you aren’t sure where to start. The good news is that one of the best activities to support that strong start in life is play. Play can help your child develop in lots of ways, and you can be an important part of it all.
Movement Through Play is Powerful
Play is a lot of things. Play is silly. Play is voluntary. Play is spontaneous. Play is natural. Play is powerful. Play is one of the first ways a child engages with the world. From the first smile to grasping toys, running and singing, children are using play experiences to grow. The combination of movement and play works to strengthen a child’s body and mind, and is the foundation for lifelong learning and development. To highlight this connection, let’s explore the impact of play across the developmental domains:
- Cognitive Skills
When infants begin to use their bodies to reach for a favorite object or kick their legs with excitement during play, their brains are planning actions, coordinating movements and learning through outcomes. As they grow and engage in play, children gain experience that builds patterns for thinking, creating, and solving problems in the future. The ability to remember information, pay attention to the task at hand, and regulate their own behavior are skills necessary throughout the lifespan.
- Physical Skills
It is easy to see how the interactive nature of play is connected to a healthy body. Whether a child is engaging with people, objects or the world around them, movement is incorporated. What may not be easily identified is how movement can support resilience and emotional control. When children are active, the brain produces feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine which reduce stress and can help children regulate their emotional responses overall.
- Social-Emotional Skills
Play can be a solitary or social activity and is important for helping children develop healthy social-emotional patterns. Regardless of the type, play requires a child to use skills like problem solving, negotiating, self-expression and language. Children are learning social rules about how to interact in the world that include sharing, taking turns, and helping others. Children are also learning they can influence the world around them through the expression of thoughts and interests. Both types support a sense of independence and self-confidence as a child learns how to be successful in creating and participating in play. Over time, the link between emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills can be seen in the way that a child will approach a new task, participate in teams, think creatively for solutions, and recognize the value they contribute to the world.
- Communication Skills
Language and communication are a part of every encounter that a child has. Children will often mimic songs, conversations, and daily routines that they have observed when engaging in play. Drawing on prior experiences allows children to practice and deepen their language skills while enhancing brain development. When children are active in play they use language; a practice that strengthens the parts of the brain that regulate decision making and understanding social cues. Communication is an important part of self-development.
- Adaptive Skills
This set of skills refers to those that are needed to participate in regular events of life including eating, dressing, toileting, reading, writing, making decisions, and interacting in the community. These skills develop over time, with the opportunity for a strong foundation beginning in the early years. Children can practice adaptive skills through play when putting on costumes, engaging in pretend play, or with activities that focus on specific skill development such as lacing cards. When children practice adaptive skills, many parts of the brain including the area of the brain that is responsible for making decisions, flexible thinking, and adapting to new environments are engaged and those connections become stronger over time.
Parents Make Play Meaningful
We parents serve an important function in our child’s play. Our involvement extends play beyond what the child already knows and increases meaning. Learning in the early years means children learn skills to help them be independent. As they grow, activities like walking, drinking from a cup, getting dressed, and returning toys after play help a child recognize their ability to participate in activities without help. While independence is a cornerstone of development, playing with your child deepens the impact of those experiences. When you join in play, your child gets to observe behavior, movement and language. You are modeling skills that the child will store in their memory to recall and imitate in future experiences. Another benefit of participating in play includes supporting your child’s emotional development as they learn how to interact with others, understand emotions, and the important role they play in their world.
Setting the Stage for Play
How children play matters. A balance between adult-led and child-led play allows children to engage and be engaged to learn in different ways. Children also need freedom to make choices during playtime free from interruption. When children are allowed to engage in uninterrupted play, they have an opportunity to fully explore their ideas. This makes play meaningful and deepens the opportunity for learning. Some ways that parents can support uninterrupted play include:
- Provide a safe space for play that includes age-appropriate toys and books.
- Toys that allow for a variety of uses are particularly good for stimulating creativity and thinking. For example: blocks, art supplies, and pretend play materials.
- Reduce background noise from TV or loud music.
- Let them make decisions about what they want to play with and how they want to play. Join in if asked.
- Allow enough play time for your child to fully explore their interest.
- When it is time to transition away from play, provide your child with notice. Try statements like, “You have 5 more minutes to play.”
Play Across the Ages
While there are infinite ways to play and engage in play with your little one, below are some suggestions to spark your playful spirit and a description of just some of the many ways your child will benefit.
| Ways to Play | Benefits | |
|---|---|---|
| Infants | • Reading, Talking and singing to your baby • Smiling at your baby • Responding to your baby’s sounds and gestures • Using an infant toy such as a rattle to engage with your baby | Building a foundation in: • Communication and language skills • Motor skills • Relationships and Social-Emotional skills |
| Toddlers/2 Year Olds | • Reading, Talking and singing with your child • Repetitive activities like rhyming or peek-a-boo • Providing opportunities for outdoor play • Sorting and matching activities with objects such as socks or leaves • Sensory exploration activities such as squeezing sponges or play dough, and coloring | • Words, words, words • Bigger movements like walking • Smaller movements like using brushes or crayons • Emotional understanding of self and others • Object recognition and naming • Increased memory • Sense of purpose and achievement |
| Preschoolers | • Reading, Talking and singing with your child • Playing games like Freeze! or the Hokey Pokey • Creating with blocks • Playing word games such as naming items to take on a trip • Pretending with dolls, toys or costumes | • Even more words! • Large movements including running, jumping, skipping • Small movements like buttoning, zipping, using safety scissors, and turning pages in books. • Curiosity and problem solving skills • Relationship building skills • Creativity |
A child’s brain experiences tremendous growth within the first three years of life, but it doesn’t end there. When you encourage your child to move, play and explore, you are helping their bodies and their minds become stronger. You are helping to provide a strong foundation for lifelong health and learning. So, give yourself permission to let them play (you, too). Their brains will thank you for it!
Additional Resources
Articles:
To learn more about games to play with children of all ages, check out this article from the American Academy of Pediatrics: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/power-of-play/Pages/the-power-of-play-how-fun-and-games-help-children-thrive.aspx
The National Association for the Education of Young Children has developed a list of 10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Play. Find it here: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-things-every-parent-play
For tips on playing with babies and toddlers, see this information from Zero To Three: https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/tips-on-playing-with-babies-and-toddlers/
Podcast:
For a deeper dive about the connection between play and resilience, listen to this podcast episode from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/podcasts/podcast-resilience-play/
Video:
To learn songs and fingerplays to sing with your child, check out resources on YouTube such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & More, Educational Songs for Kids https://youtu.be/Plgi8xHdIfo?si=9-dbfyP0p5CBwDwU
UNICEF offers a video for parents on building the brains of babies through play. This video can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpiYNkkNmEo
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