The Magic of Play

15 Minutes of Play a Day

Did you know that just 15 minutes of play with your child can boost their mental health?

Here’s how, with Dr. Ariana Hoet and Dr. Whitney Raglin Bignall from The Kids Mental Health Foundation (KMHF).

Our Partnership with KMHF

Let’s Play!

Need a little help supporting your child’s skills or choosing the right toy?

We’re here with expert insight and joyful play ideas.

Explore Skills
Explore Toys
Ways to Play

Explore Skills

Learn about six skills that support your child’s mental health through everyday play.

Explore Toys

Browse toys by skill, and click any toy for play tips.

Playful Possibilities

Everyday moments that make play meaningful.

Our Mental Health Mission

Browse by Skill

Independence: Children build self-esteem and confidence when they discover they're capable of doing something themselves. Giving them space to work through a task on their own is one of the best ways to build that confidence.

Problem Solving: Play helps children learn to find ways to work through challenges when things don't go as planned. Giving your child space to figure it out on their own builds flexible thinking, persistence, and resilience.

Handling Emotions: When children can identify their feelings and describe how those feelings show up in their body, they start to understand big emotions and what to do with them. These skills help kids build patience and work through challenging moments.

Decision Making: Having to make a choice when they have more than one option helps them think through possible outcomes. "What do you think should happen next?" is a great question to ask your child when playing. This allows them to think about what a good decision may be and what possible outcomes their choice may lead to.

Social Awareness: Through play, kids practice empathy, kindness, and how to get along with others. You can show your child how people talk to each other, what's helpful, and what's unkind. This helps them understand how others feel and builds strong relationship skills.

Mindfulness: Being fully present and noticing what is happening in the moment is good for calming down and for identifying feelings. Paying attention to sights, sounds, and textures helps kids stay grounded and focused.

Playful Possibilities

  • Intentional Time

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    Your child benefits from one-on-one time with you, especially when you let them take the lead. When you focus on what they are doing, you will learn more about them and build their confidence. During intentional time, consider:

    - Watching and noticing what they are doing. This step can lead to great conversations where you learn more about what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling.

    - Praising them for their effort: “You kept trying to get all of those in order. and you didn’t give up.”

    - Not asking too many questions. Instead, be a “playcaster,” narrating play out loud like a sportscaster would: “Now you’re putting the blue block on top!”

  • New Experiences

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    Some children may feel nervous around new experiences. Playing with the Wooden Sparkling Smile Dentist Kit or Wooden Little Doc’s Medical Kit can help children understand what to expect and can make them more comfortable when going to the office for the first time.

  • Helping Activities

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    Playing pretend helping activities is great for building a child’s confidence to help out in real ways. When a child helps wash dishes, they see themselves as connected to the family. It also builds their self-esteem to know that their help matters.

  • Routines

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    Kids love routines, and they need them to feel secure. You can use toys to help them practice how to get ready for school with the 4-in-1 Learn & Play Pack or show them what goes into a healthy breakfast with the Wooden Crack & Play Eggs or Wooden Press & Pop Toaster Set. Routines can also help when moving on to the next activity, which can be challenging for kids.

  • Family Traditions

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    When you play with a toy like the Wooden Slice & Share Birthday Cake and talk about how your family likes to celebrate birthdays, you're showing them how they fit into their family and traditions. This connects them not only with your family but also to their culture and background, which can build self-esteem.

  • Pretending

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    When kids invent their own worlds and think creatively, it helps build confidence in new skills and helps them problem-solve in a safe environment. You can encourage pretend play by following their lead.

Common Play Questions

  • Sometimes kids misbehave, even when we’re giving them our full attention.

    First, remain calm. Second, remind them of the family rules directly and clearly. For example, you might say, “In our family, we don’t throw toys.”

    Your goal is to stop the behavior that you don’t want quickly so that you can get back on track. If they continue to misbehave, let them know the consequences of continuing that behavior. For example, you might say, “if you continue to throw toys, I will take them away and we will have to stop playing.”  The important thing to remember is that you will have to follow through with the consequences if the misbehavior continues.

  • It’s great to have family rules and let them know what’s allowed and not allowed during play. Consider giving them several options or activities to choose from rather than having it be completely open.

    Talk to them about what will happen if they go outside of the family rules. This could include putting toys into “time out”, ending play time or other consequences. Whatever you say the consequences will be, you’ll need to follow up on those and enforce them. 

  • You can lean into your family rules, saying something like, “We play nicely with our toys, and if we can’t play nicely with our toys, then we will put them away.”

    If your child continues to play aggressively with their toys, you’ll have to follow through on putting them away. Then you can redirect them to a different activity.

  • You want your child to lead the play time. If they don’t want you to play, it’s OK, as this may be them wanting to build independence. During this time, try sitting next to them and watching them.

    Try commenting occasionally about what you see them doing: “You’re pushing the truck!” or “I see you’ve built a tall tower.”

    Let them know that you’re there and happy to join in if they want. Sometimes, they might feel we will take over, so be sure to allow them to lead and not take over (by asking a lot of questions or giving a lot of suggestions) can help a lot.  

  • It’s great to do one-on-one when possible, but family time is also special.

    Finding a fun activity or toys that everyone can agree on can turn family time into intentional time as well.

  • You can start by quietly watching. This will help you not to try and take over or offer too many suggestions.

    When you’re ready to start trying the activity with them, mirror what they’re doing or just follow along. You don’t have to say anything to play alongside them when you’re first getting started.

    As you get more comfortable, mention what you see them doing. “I see you’ve picked up the white cupcake,” or “You put the elephant on the red square.”  

  • You can make a significant difference in your child’s life in just 5-15 minutes. Instead of thinking about how much time you need to commit, work on making the time that you spend with your child really high quality, giving them your full attention.

  • The Kids Mental Health Foundation has more information you may find helpful. Consider signing up for their newsletter to get information emailed to you every week! Below are a few articles that you might find helpful.