Science Explains Why Kids That Play Well Thrive⁠↗

Parents can help children get the most out of play and use it to strengthen the parent-child bond. But you don’t want to help too much. “Guiding play can be fine, but one needs to be careful to give enough room for the unknown to take shape,” Alcée says. Here’s what that means on a practical level. • Embrace your kid’s story. Parents should try to stay within the metaphor, characters or form children initiate. This means it’s essential to be patient and go with the flow in children’s games. • Let the block tower fall. “As your children learn to practice and try again, they will develop critical-thinking skills, initiative and creativity,” says Lee Scott, chair of the educational advisory board for The Goddard School, a national early childhood education franchise. • Don’t force socialization. When children engage in “parallel play,” they play in the same area and perhaps with similar toys but are not doing the same thing, sharing or interacting with another child. This is fine. • Don’t look for meaning. “Sometimes the best thing a parent can do is set aside their own notions of what should happen during play and simply let their child lead the way,” Yalow says.