Unoccupied play | Your child’s first play

A child engaged in unoccupied play, lying on his back and looking around.

Unoccupied play, though seemingly simple, plays a crucial role in your child’s early years. It lays the foundation for various developmental milestones and offers parents unique insights into their child’s world. The six stages of play Mildred Parten identified six stages of play, from unoccupied to co-operative. They chart children’s progression from playing alone to …

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Small world play

A small world play scene with wooden animals

Have you heard of small world play? In this type of play, children can build, create and imagine, all in a small, safe and manageable ‘world’ of their own making. It’s imaginative play, only it’s more contained, often in a space that your child can return to again and again. What is small world play? …

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Open-ended play

A child enjoying open-ended play with blocks

Open-ended play is brilliant. It encourages experimentation and perseverance and keeps your children busy for hours, buying you the time to have five minutes’ rest and a nice cup of tea. In this guide we’ll look at how you can get more of it in your life. What is open-ended play? As a child, do you …

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Transient art

A transient art picture comprising playdough shapes and dried flowers

Have you ever scratched a picture in the sand on a beach? Or built a sandcastle? How did you feel when the waves washed it away? How did you feel when your chalk ‘Wanted’ poster for a ‘LLOST CA’ (Lost Cat) disappeared with the rain? It wasn’t so bad, was it? Why? You expected it. …

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