Encourage play. Make time for it.

Your child will enjoy playing by themself.

Sometimes they will want to play with someone else. Your child needs playmates. These can be you, other adults, siblings, or peers. By playing with others, your child will begin to discover their strengths and weaknesses. They will develop feelings of self-esteem and self-confidence.

When children play in a group of other children, each child will have different strengths. This allows each child to be a leader at some point during play.

Arrange play with other children in park programs or play groups. Check out toy lending libraries. As your child gets older, they may be ready for daycare or preschool. This provides an excellent opportunity to be social with other children.

Try not to over-schedule your child’s life. They need time to play by themself. They also need quiet times.

Just as we balance out children’s food, we also have to balance their activities. Children need a variety of experiences. Try to make time in a week for social and solitary play, reading, helping around the home, music, and caring for pets.

Children need both indoor and outdoor play time. Children also need active play where they take risks and test their boundaries.

You may notice that your child spends more time playing with the box a toy came in than the toy itself. You don’t have to buy fancy toys. In fact, sometimes fancy toys are not as helpful for learning and development as simple toys. For example, a child can engage in more creative play with a simple doll than a doll that walks, talks, and eats by itself.

Toys do not have to be expensive to be educational or fun. Some simple and inexpensive toys are metal or plastic cups, pots and pans, wooden spoons, crayons and paper, boxes, boxes inside of boxes, dress up toys, balls, plastic bottles, and floating toys.

Your child does not need multiple toys or the most high-tech gadgets.

Your child will be rough on their toys. Make sure that the toy can stand up to being dropped, banged, poked, and pulled. Also, make sure the toy is washable with both soap and water.

• Can your child use their five senses when playing with the toy? The five senses are seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feeling.
• Does the toy give your child the chance to move, push, or pull?
• Does your child have to use their imagination to play with the toy?
• Does the toy encourage climbing, crawling, walking, running, jumping, or rolling?
• Can the toy be squeezed, banged, thrown, opened, closed, or stacked?

Often, toys are labelled with what age the toy is made for. This helps keep children safe. Choose toys that are approved for your child’s age.

When buying a toy, think about if the toy will still be interesting as your child gets older and their skills increase.

Make sure that your child has one toy that they can play with on their own. A toy should engage and involve your child, such as blocks. It is important to buy toys that your child can do things with instead of toys that do things by themselves.

Provide a variety of toys for a wide range of experiences. Everyday objects in your house can be toys, like pots and pans.

Being active and exploring the world comes with some risks. For example, your child might trip over some rocks when running outside and skin their knee. It is important for your child to take risks during play. This pushes their limits and helps them to develop skills.

Your child will benefit from active play in the following ways.

• Build self-confidence
• Build resiliency skills
• Develop a belief in themself
• Explore independence
• Develop sound judgement
• Develop risk assessment skills
• Develop social skills
• Understand that it is safe to test limits
• Feel a sense of accomplishment
• Try new skills and new behaviours

As an adult, your role is to make sure that the environment is free of hazards. For example, it is your role to make sure there is no glass in the sandbox before your child plays.

You can support your child to be active, explore their world, and take risks by:

• providing supervision when your young child is playing
• making sure the place where your child is playing has no hazards in it
• encouraging your child to be independent
• making time for your child to play with other children
• encouraging your child’s desire for joy and excitement
• helping your child learn how to understand risks and figure out how to manage them
• encouraging your child’s imagination
• making sure that your child gets a lot of rest so they have the energy to be active
• allowing your child to have free time

Your baby learns through their five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Even a newborn baby needs things to look at, to listen to, and things to touch. During the first few months, you are your child’s best playmate. Looking into your eyes, feeling your touch, and hearing your voice are examples of ways that your baby is learning with you. Your baby does not need expensive toys and gadgets.

By the time your baby is three months old, they need interesting and safe objects to hold and play with. Small, soft, washable toys of different textures are great.

Look around your house. There are a lot of objects that you already have that your baby can play with and learn from. Some examples are cardboard boxes, plastic containers, pots and pans, and safe, non-sharp kitchen utensils.

Your child is still developing a lot of skills. They are learning physical skills, such as how to climb and jump. They are learning social skills. They are learning how to be independent, problem solve, and plan. They are using their imagination more. They are remembering events and are starting to be able to apply things they have learned to new tasks. Play will help them develop these skills.

Continue to give your child opportunities to play with you, with other children their age, and with other people in your community.

Your child’s favourite thing to do can change every day. Let your child make choices about what they want to do. Allow for free play time (time when play is not organized and doesn’t have rules). Your child still needs to see you, or know where you are, to feel safe when they play.

Every day, give some time for your child to lead your play with them. This helps them build their connection to you and their self-esteem.

Your child does not need expensive toys and gadgets.

Your child needs active, physical play every day.

Your child is continuing to learn about their body and what it can do. They are actively using their imagination in both play and everyday activities. For example, your child may want to wear a superhero cape to preschool.

Your child’s social skills are also developing. They are learning how to share and to recognize other people’s feelings. They are also learning how to negotiate. This helps with fair play, but sometimes can feel manipulative. For example, “Dad said I could …”

Your child’s world is expanding beyond your family and home. Help to expand this. Take trips to parks, playgrounds, and activities. Allow for social opportunities.

You will notice that your child will enjoy imitating you during play. They are trying out roles, words, and testing boundaries. As long as your child is safe, it is important for your child to test their limits.

Your child needs active, physical play every day.

Playing outside helps your child grow and learn.

Playing outside lets your child:

• Be active
• Explore
• Use their imagination
• Problem-solve
• Develop their muscles

Children who play outdoors move more than those who play indoors. Time spent outdoors can help meet the physical activity requirements of your child’s age group.

Children who play outside get less chronic illnesses, like Type 2 diabetes, vitamin D deficiency, asthma, and high blood pressure. It can also decrease your child’s risk of experiencing depression and anxiety later in life.

As long as children are properly dressed, playing outside during both winter and summer is healthy and possible. To get winter and/or safety tips, click here.

Remember that adult supervision is very important for young children and especially important when children are playing outdoors.

Between 1-4 years of age, your child should have at least 180 minutes of physical activity throughout the day. This does not mean 180 minutes all at one time. It can be spread out over the whole day. For example, your child might be physically active for 20 minutes every hour for 9 hours of the day.

For small children, meeting the physical activity requirements is often not difficult, as they like to move around and explore their world. Below are some ways that you can help your child to be physically active.

• Plan sitting activities that will not take too much time.
• Switch from sitting activities to movement activities.
• Let your child explore both indoors and outdoors.
• Visit your local playground.
• Actively play with your child (e.g., kicking a ball around the back yard).
• Do not leave your child in their car seat or stroller for a long time. It is recommended that children under the age of 5 are placed not in a confined seated position for more than 1 hour at a time.
• Encourage walking instead of using the stroller.
• Keep TVs and computers out of your child’s bedroom.
• Have little or no screen time around your child. Screen time is any time that includes TVs, computers, tablets, electronic games, or cell phones.

By the time your child is 5, they should have over 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity. This does not mean 60 minutes all at one time. It can be spread out over the whole day. For example, your child might be physically active for 10 minutes of vigorous activity every hour for 6 hours of the day.

Please note that this guideline is for every day. If your child is enrolled in soccer on Fridays and is active for 90 minutes, the extra 30 minutes does not count towards the next day’s 60 minutes.

Be careful not to overschedule your child. Unscheduled physical activity is important.

Moderate physical activity includes bike riding, playing at the playground, skateboarding, walking, hiking, and t-ball.

Vigorous physical activity includes running, swimming, aerobics, dancing, and ice skating.

Below are some ways that you can help your child to be physically active.

• Plan sitting activities that will not take too much time.
• Switch from sitting activities to movement activities.
• Let your child be active both indoors and outdoors.
• Visit your local playground.
• Encourage active imaginative play.
• Actively play with your child (e.g., kicking a ball around the back yard).
• Enroll your child in community programming, like swimming lessons or t-ball.
• Be active together as a family (e.g., take a walk, rake the yard, or shovel snow).
• Keep TVs and computers out of your child’s bedroom.
• Limit your child’s screen time to less than 2 hours per day. Screen time is any time that includes TVs, computers, tablets, electronic games, or cell phones.

• Child Development Institute: Playing with your Child
• Government of Australia. Raising Children: Why is Play Important
• National Association for the Education of Young Children: Play