Different play experiences may provide different developmental opportunities.
Articles on Free play
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Asking children to explain what they are building or allowing them time to explore without interruption can deepen the STEM learning embedded in play.
Clumsiness can cause some children to withdraw from physical, sporting and leisure activities.
Children can transform ordinary items into extraordinary play scenes with Barbie and Barbie-like dolls.
As enrolments climb and urban spaces become more crowded, some schools have been left with less play space per student than a prison cell.
Conflicts at recess, averaging one every three minutes, greatly disrupt children’s play activities. However, a well-designed school layout can reduce the problem.
Children use play to express themselves and process their emotions. Here’s how parents can make the most of play time together.
During the pandemic, children’s independent mobility may be more essential than ever before.
Play with their friends helps children develop social skills and is good for mental health.
Scotland is undertaking a child-care initiative to double the number of fully funded child-care hours available to parents, and outdoor play is part of it.
Instead of insisting on homeschooling primary-age kids, free play can help them learn and has benefits for physical and mental health.
Children feel less frustrated and are allowed to be creative and expressive in spaces where they make choices.
New research has found that fears of playground accidents such as falls have led to considerable changes in school playgrounds, reflecting a climate of over-policing and surplus rules and regulations.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, Early Childhood Curriculum Studies, MacEwan University
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Professor of Child Psychology, University of Exeter
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Associate Professor of Education, Charles Sturt University
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Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, University of Sussex
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Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto
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Visiting research fellow in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading
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Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Research Chair in Early Childhood Development and Education, Concordia University
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Professor of Clinical Child Psychology, University of Sussex
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Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW
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Health Promotion Specialist - Knowledge Translation and Exchange, University of British Columbia
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Lecturer, School of Education, Charles Sturt University
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Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania
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Research Co-ordinator and PhD Student, Counselling Psychology, McGill University
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Professor of Play Therapy, University of South Carolina
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Associate Professor, Health and Human Services, MacEwan University