Let's Play!

Happy New Year!

We're kicking off 2026 with a newsletter about the importance of play, written by Carrie Gardner, LMHC-D.

Enjoy, and Go Bills!

Dr. Kate

I think we can all agree that our kids they want to play (maybe more like "demand to play" at times). Whether it is a game of tag, creating a world with dinosaurs and aliens, or their favorite card game…kids gravitate towards play (Spot It has become a favorite at my house). Kids utilize play as their language as they learn and understand their world. So really, not only do they want and demand to play, they also need to play.  

Those that know me are aware of my love of the brain and how it helps inform our therapy (also true of all my colleagues at the RRC). The importance of play makes sense when considering the typical development of the brain. When we are born our lower brain is most developed compared to other areas. This area consists of the brainstem and cerebellum which regulates the things we need to stay alive (heart rate, breathing etc). The next area to develop further is the middle brain, which is where we learn to regulate and recognize emotions. We also have most of our sensory processing areas here. The last to develop is the logical, reasoning, and learning part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. This area is said to not fully develop until about 26 years old. There is even some research that says it is still developing into our early 30s.

Since the language part of our brain is least developed children struggle to use verbal language and learn through verbal communication. Play helps us to navigate through this developmental time period. They can be fully present when playing and use all senses to understand themselves, others, and the world. Play also helps develop social, problem solving, and regulation skills, build resilience, and so much more!  

            Let’s check out an example. Your children love to build with Legos and will spend hours building and building. To us, it looks like they are just building houses or villages, but for them their brain is firing away. Building legos uses spacial skills to figure out if putting the lego this way will help their tower get higher or get in the way of fitting another lego. It also helps sensory systems as they figure out how much force is needed to build. When their creation breaks and it feels devastating, they are put in a position where they have to regulate feelings if they want to try again. They begin to understand that mistakes are how they learn, and they might have to try multiple times before the building what they want. If someone else joins them, they learn how to communicate and work together.

            Play has so many benefits it is hard to summarize them all in one newsletter, but stay tuned for next month’s article as we use our knowledge of play to explore how play therapy helps and why we use it so much in sessions. As always, parenting is a wild ride and we see your dedication to your children!