The value of play

The Value of Play is an important message from the Australian Toy Association and its members as it supports children’s social, emotional and intellectual development.

In 2003 the original Value of Play Campaign was developed in the UK to encourage and promote the benefits of play for children. They associated play with cognitive development, fitness, confidence, abilities, imagination and much more.

The Australian Toy Association (ATA) in partnership and through the licensing of the Genius of Play program from the US Toy Association, relaunched its own Value of Play in 2019 for Australian Families and included a new look, standalone website as well as social media sites.

The ATA believes play is serious business and we are equally committed to promoting safe, educational and most importantly, fun play opportunities among children of all ages.

This resource has been widely accepted throughout Australia and in recent times, the Value of Play website has seen a large increase in traffic, especially during both the initial COVID-19 national lockdown and more recently the Victorian lockdown imposed over the past few months

We are immensely pleased that families were able to use this resource at a time when children were unable to socialise with friends both at school and other activities but on the upside, could spend more time interacting with family. The parental role in encouraging and supporting play and helping children develop strong social and emotional skills is now well recognised. The Value of Play has been of enormous assistance in achieving balance and offering ideas to assist children make sense of what is going on in their world while continuing to enjoy a laugh and quality time as a family.

Parents can assist children by looking for ways to make play part of each day. Play can be educational, it can be creative, it can be musical, or it can be active. But first and foremost, play is fun.

Creative play allows children to express themselves. This could be by drawing, painting, singing, playing music, making a cubby under the kitchen table, building sandcastles at the beach or constructing things out of recycled boxes and cartons and a roll of tape.

Dramatic play is where children designate roles or act out situations, they may see in daily life such as playing doctors and nurses with their teddies or dolls. This may extend to imaginary play where children pretend, they are fairies, dragons or astronauts in space.

Active play includes anything that gets us moving. Active play is dancing around the living room, throwing a ball, riding a bike, climbing trees, playing at the playground, or a game of organised sport.

There is no age limit on play. When children are engaged in play with their parents, grandparents or other carers they feel safe and loved and all will enjoy the experience and the joy of play. Let the children take the lead and make the rules and decisions about play and observe, listen and remain open-minded. You will see how children use their creativity and imagination to invent games and play with toys in new ways.

For your babies, you are the best toy. Talk to them, sing with them, dance around the living room, play peekaboo, read together. Choose toys that respond when your baby interacts with them such as rattles, squeaky toys or shakers. Make sure these are safe for babies with no small or loose parts. Choosing the right toys for your child is essential.

The safety of any product for children is of the upmost importance for the industry and we continue to voice that through our communications.

For Toddlers, understand they are interested in how things work. They will explore any object within reach, banging, shaking and dropping them to see what happens. They enjoy interactive play such as puzzles or scooping and pouring toys for the bath or sandpit. They will have fun stacking and kicking over blocks or soft bricks

Pre-schoolers also love to know how things work and how to solve problems and predict what happens. They love to draw, create and build things, they also love to hear stories and read together and talk about what may happen next. Around this age children start to play together and may organise games amongst themselves. This is important for communication with others and developing empathy. Put together a collection of dress ups with old clothes and other props for them to play with. Set out a board game to play with friends and family.

From 6 months to 2 years: kids love building blocks. stacking and nesting toys, books, mirrors, musical toys and rattles.

From 2 to 6 years: Dolls and figurines, play dough, art supplies including old cardboard boxes and glue. Natural materials including leaves, sticks and flowers, puzzles, balls, bikes and scooters. Bucket and spade for the sandpit.

6 to 12 years: Bikes and scooters, skipping ropes, playing cards and board games. Sports equipment

For Families: Traditional board games and card games, books, musical instruments or a karaoke set or a frisbee, footy or soccer ball to kick in the backyard or local oval.

Play is an important part of a child’s early development. Playing helps young children’s brains to develop and for their language and communication skills to mature. We know from studies that free play is important.

The Value Of Play website offers guidance to parents and professionals on all matters, including fun play ideas for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. www.valueofplay.com.au You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.