Importance of parent-child play
These are busy times. Parents juggle schedules, try to meet the needs of young families and afford children the opportunities that weren’t always available a generation or two ago. And yet, at the end of a long day when you are just about to put your feet up, a voice calls, “Will you play with me?”
With television shows, mobile apps, games and toys, it can be tempting to pass a child a device rather than getting up off the couch and engaging in make-believe. And yet, play may be exactly what you both need.
Nearly a century ago, a mother’s letter to the editor of The Farmer’s Wife Magazine was published in April 1932. The Great Depression was raging and times were tough. She described her three-yearold daughter, Janice, calling her for a tea party. A small piece of bread, animal crackers and water were laid out. The mother, bending over a steaming washtub, was trying to get her washing done and hung out on the line while baby was content in the high chair. However, she relented and joined her toddler for tea.
Little Janice acted the hostess and served her mother and her dolls. When they were done, the mother reflected that when she glanced at the clock, only 15 minutes had passed. Time she was sure she could not spare had resulted in a sweet moment with her child and a muchneeded break. Fast-forward to 2018 and we are still just as busy and childhood is still just as fleeting as it was then. And yet, the importance remains. Childled play fosters both independence and a healthy connection to you as they grow.
When you give a child your time, you are nurturing a positive sense of self-esteem and healthy development. Studies have shown that parentchild play can boost brain development and strengthen the parent-child bond. Playing together provides the opportunity to shape traits such as empathy and problemsolving, setting the stage for future confidence in school, on the playground and in their interactions with their peers and adults.
Imagine giving your child an empty tool kit. Each time you play together, you are adding another tool that is an important life skill: cognitive reasoning, socialization, large and small motor skills, curiosity, sharing, communication skills and emotional competence. Laugh at the toppling tower of blocks, tidy up the spilled tea, choose the wrong puzzle piece and ask for their help to find the one that fits correctly. By establishing positive parent-child play routines early, and often, you can be confident that by the time they go off to school, you have outfitted them with the abilities they need most.
Lethbridge Early Years Coalition believes that all children deserve a safe and nurturing childhood. Science tells us that the early years (birth to age five) are the most critical period in a child’s development. A child’s early experiences and environments have lifelong impacts on everything from mental and physical health to success in school, work and relationships.
For more information about Lethbridge Early Years, visit