The Power of Play – Why It’s More Than Just Fun
Because play is the work of childhood
For children, play isn’t just something they do, it’s how they learn, connect, and grow. In the early years, play is one of the most powerful tools for building skills that last a lifetime. When a child is stacking blocks, pretending to feed a toy, or rolling a ball across the floor, they’re not “just playing”, they’re laying down the foundations for thinking, moving, communicating, and regulating their emotions.
How Play Builds Essential Skills
Motor skills: Play supports both fine and gross motor development. Activities like climbing, crawling, threading beads, drawing, or building towers strengthen muscles, improve coordination, and prepare children for school readiness tasks such as handwriting, dressing, and self care.
Communication: During play, children learn to share ideas, express needs, listen, and understand others. Pretend play and turn taking games naturally encourage language development, helping children communicate confidently with peers and adults.
Thinking and problem-solving: Play fuels curiosity. When children experiment, such as building a tower that topples over, fitting shapes into holes, or pretending to be a shopkeeper, they’re learning cause and effect, flexible thinking, and persistence.
Emotional regulation: Through play, children practice managing big feelings. They learn to tolerate frustration, cope with disappointment, and celebrate success. This helps build resilience and self-regulation — key skills for learning and relationships.
Social connection: Play creates opportunities for cooperation, empathy, and teamwork. When children take turns, share toys, or join in group games, they learn about boundaries, fairness, and how to build friendships.
Why Play Matters More Than Ever
In a world filled with screens and structured activities, children often have fewer chances to engage in open-ended, imaginative play. Yet this type of unstructured play is where so much of the learning magic happens. It helps children make sense of their world, explore new ideas, and gain confidence through success and safe failure alike.
But what if your child doesn’t seem to play? Maybe they wander around the room without joining in, line up toys without imaginative use, or repeat the same action again and again. These can be signs that play, and therefore development, is feeling hard for them.
OT Insight: How Occupational Therapy Can Help
When a child finds play difficult, they may also be struggling with underlying skills such as sensory processing, motor planning, attention, or social understanding. Paediatric occupational therapists use play as both the means and the goal of therapy. We meet children where they are, following their interests and gradually building the skills that make play, and learning, enjoyable and successful.
In therapy sessions, play might look like obstacle courses to build coordination, pretend play to develop social imagination, or sensory play to help with regulation. Every activity is carefully tailored to your child’s developmental stage and individual strengths.
Try This Today
Create a “low-demand” play moment at home. Sit beside your child with two or three simple toys — a car, a doll, or some blocks. Rather than instructing, model one short action like rolling the car or feeding the teddy. Pause. Let your child watch, copy, or simply share the moment with you. Even small bursts of shared play build communication, connection, and confidence.
When to Seek Support
If your child avoids play, struggles to join others, or finds everyday activities like dressing, drawing, or using utensils tricky, it may be helpful to speak with a paediatric occupational therapist. Early, play-based support can make a big difference, helping your child feel capable, connected, and ready for the next stage of their development.
