Today is Playday – the national day for play 7 August

Today is Playday – the national day for play, celebrated each year across the UK on the first Wednesday in August.

The theme for this year is

“Play – the culture of childhood. Supporting play, fun and friendships”

To celebrate the Tavistock and Portman has a fantastic free resource for download that can help parents to support their child’s development through play.

Watch Me Play! was developed in First Step as an intervention to promote child-led play, enhance relationships, and create a better understanding of each child’s strengths and needs.

How it works

The Watch Me Play! approach promotes child-led play, individual attention from caregivers, and talking with babies and children about their play. Caregivers are asked to provide age-appropriate toys and their undivided attention in a quiet environment for regular short times two or more times a week. Caregivers are also encouraged to talk with the baby or child about their play, and to reflect with another involved adult or a professional on what they saw and how it felt to be with their baby or child as they played.

Play can help to allow new thoughts and feelings to be expressed. Receiving their caregiver’s undivided attention helps children to focus in their play and communicate. Letting the child take the lead, as long as what they choose to do is safe, allows adults to learn from the child’s play.

How it can be used

A special time to focus on playing and enjoying being together can help parents and caregivers to feel more connected with their baby or child. Many parents and caregivers tell us that they see positive changes in their child’s play skills, speech or relationships after using the Watch Me Play! approach. If there are worries, a period of Watch Me Play! can help to indicate the type of further intervention or assessment that may be helpful.

For vulnerable children or those who are in care, close attention to the child’s play can help to bring together professional networks, informing care planning and further support for the child. Watch Me Play! can be used by parents and by foster carers and can be used in supervised contact to enhance the experiences of parents and children.

The Watch Me Play! approach can also be used to support children in nursery or school.

You can also join our two-part online training for an introduction to the principles behind Watch Me Play! and explore how to support caregivers and practitioners in developing meaningful connections with their children through child-led play.