Why is play important?

Play is what kids do every day – you can think of play as their work. Play is one of the main ways kids learn, explore and experience the world. Parents and family are the centre of a child’s world. So they love it when you get involved in their play. Kids learn better when they are enjoying themselves. When your child needs to learn anything, you can put a playful spin on it to keep them interested and motivated to continue practising. So play is a great way to achieve kids’ everyday goals.
Let your child choose, lead the way, and follow their interests to keep play and the learning fun for them!

Learning naturally happens when your child is having fun!

Key Messages

• Positive relationships will help your child to develop and learn
• Play can help you to further connect with your child
• Focus on the fun – the skills and progress will follow!
• Follow your child’s interests, choices, and let them lead
• Make everyday activities fun and playful to help with learning
• Anyone activity could help achieve several goals
• Repetition and practice is important for learning
• Acknowledge and celebrate effort and success

Think “Flexible”

• Be flexible with your plans and ideas
• Think of different ways to practise the same skill, e.g. use different toys, household objects, or different activities
• It takes trial and error to see what works
• Try things more than once – what does not work one time might work another time

The video playlist below is a series of examples and ideas on how you can use play as therapy at home.