Help your child play with you
What is play?
Play means the ways children explore their world and enjoy themselves, both with toys and with other people. Play skills begin to develop early in a baby’s life and they continue to develop throughout childhood.
My child prefers to play on their own. Is it important for them to play with me and with others?
Playing isn’t just about having fun – it’s also a great way for your child to learn important skills like taking turns, exploring their emotions, building friendships and eventually having a conversation. Children also learn new words and sentences when they play with you because they’re listening to what you’re saying.
Some children find it harder to play with others and prefer to play on their own. It’s good for children to play by themselves sometimes, but having some time playing with others is also important because it helps their communication skills to develop.
How can I help my child play with me?
Here are some strategies you can try to help your child play with you.
Join in and copy what your child says or does while they’re playing. If they’re banging bricks, you can bang bricks too. If they’re clapping and making sounds, you do the same. Copying your child can help them pay attention to you and shows them you are interested in what they are doing.
People games are games that you and your child can play together without toys, like tickles, chase or peek-a-boo. People games can help children pay attention to people while they are playing. Don’t be afraid to be a little silly when playing these with your child!
Ready, steady, go games are a great way of encouraging your child’s attention and listening skills. Saying “ready, steady…” lets your child know that something exciting is about to happen and helps them pay attention to you.
Sometimes your child won’t want to play with you and that’s okay. If your child is showing you that they don’t want to play with you or that they don’t like that game, show them that you understand and stop. You can always play together again later on.
What else can I do to help my child’s communication skills?
For other ideas about supporting your child’s communication skills through play, have a look at these advice pages:
Top ten toys
Creating opportunities for your child to communicate
Supporting children’s early communication skills
More ideas to develop children’s play skills can be found on the BBC Tiny Happy People website:
Click here
