Families that play together build strong relationships. Whether it's reading together, playing board games during cold, blustery days or playing outside in the summer, interacting with young children helps build the strong neural foundation and social-emotional skills they'll need to succeed in school and later in life.
Children love to see Mom and Dad step out of parental mode and become play equals. Having fun together through positive play experiences can have lasting beneficial impacts. Through play, children learn to question, predict, hypothesize, evaluate and analyze, form opinions and persist through adversity, according to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y.
Research shows that play also strongly benefits children’s language skills, especially when they play with attentive, responsive adults. The American Journal of Play says a particularly effective language-learning environment is created when supportive adults play with children and follow the child’s lead, which usually naturally builds on the child’s interest.
Parents who take time to play and interact with their children lay the foundation for healthy emotional and social development. Children who have strong attachments to their parents and caregivers make better life choices as they grow toward adulthood, enabling them to function as contributing members of society.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has this to say about the importance of playing together as a family:
The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships.… Parents who have the opportunity to glimpse into their children’s world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer gentle, nurturing guidance.
