Why Playing With Your Child Is Not A Waste Of Time – It Can Prevent A Future Mental Health Crisis #LegacyNow

“I have a range of toys, games and equipment in my therapy room for my child clients. They can choose these to ‘play out’ and role-play ideas, questions, and concepts in their mind. It is so important to let children play because these toys and games help to develop their cognitive, social and emotional well-being and extend their imagination. The way the children play and interact with the toys and equipment helps me to engage with them. It also allows me to interpret what issues the child may be grappling with, so I can verbalise my observations, which acknowledges them, builds connection and provides bonding time to build deeper trust.

How I ‘play’ with the children is easily replicable by parents at home. It is a way to build a connection with their children. But, parents incorrectly misunderstand that because ‘playing’ is fun, it must be frivolous and when children are sitting in the corner playing with their dolls, Lego or some other game instead of doing their homework, parents see it as ‘wasting time.’ I will come back to this later in the blog.”

 

To continue reading the full blog post, provided by Usha Chudasama – click here.