Enter into

childrens play
and you will find
the place where
their minds,
hearts and souls
meet
Virginia Axline

The Meaning
of Play
Childrens play is not mere sport. It is full of meaning and import.
F.Froebel

Children must be approached and understood from a developmental

perspective. They are not miniature adults. Their world is one of concrete
realities, and their experiences often, are communicated through play. In
seeking to facilitate childrens expression and exploration of their emotional
world, therapists must turn loose of their world of reality and verbal
expression and move into the conceptual-expressive world of children.
Unlike adults, whose natural medium of communication is verbalization, the
natural medium of communication for children is play and activity.

Functions of Play
The universal importance of play to the natural development and wholeness of children
has been underscored by the UN proclamation of play as a universal and inalienable
right of childhood.
Play is the singular central activity of childhood, occurring at all times and in all places.
Children do not need to be taught how to play, nor must they be made to play. Play is
spontaneous, usually enjoyable, voluntary, and not goal directed. In order to make
childrens play more acceptable, some adults have invented a meaning for play by
defining it as work. In their push to be successful and to hurry up the process of growing
up, many adults cannot tolerate the waste of childrens time by playing. The attitude is
that children must be accomplishing something or working toward some important goal
acceptable to adults.
It is regrettable that play has been identified by many writers as childrens work. This
seems to be an effort to somehow make play legitimate, intimating that play can be
important only if it somehow fits what adults consider important in their world. Just as
childhood has intrinsic value and is not merely preparation for adulthood, so play has
intrinsic value and is not dependent on what may follow for importance. In contrast to
work, which is goal focused and directed toward accomplishment or completion of a task
by accommodating the demands of the immediate environment, play is intrinsically
complete, does not depend on external reward, and assimilates the world to match the
childs concepts, as in the case of a child using a spoon as a car.
Frank (1982) suggested play is the way children learn what no one can teach them. It is
the way they explore and orient themselves to the actual world of space and time, of
things, animals, structures, and people. By engaging in the process of play, children
learn to live in our world of meanings and values, at the same time exploring and
experimenting and learning in their own individual ways.

According to Woltmann (1964),

The spontaneous and self-generated activities of the child enable him to conceptualize,
to structure, and to bring to tangible levels of activity his experiences and the feelings
with which he invests them. Play, in this meaning, furnishes the child with opportunities
to act out situations which are disturbing, conflicting, and confusing to him. The small
child especially lacks semantic fluency since the development of his apperceptive
processes is in a state of growingflux, various types of play materials seem to be
ideally suited for the expression of his feelings and attitudes. (p. 174)
Below age 10 to 11, most children experience difficulty sitting still for sustained periods
of time. A young child has to make a conscious effort to sit still, and thus creative energy
is consumed in focusing on a nonproductive activity. Play therapy provides for childrens
need to be physically active. In play, children discharge energy, prepare for lifes duties,
achieve difficult goals, and relieve frustrations. They get physical contact, discharge their
needs to compete, act aggressively in socially acceptable ways, and learn to get along
with others. Play helps children give their imaginations free rein, learn the trappings of
their culture, and develop skills (Papalia & Olds, 1986). As children play, they are
expressing the individuality of their personalities and drawing upon inner resources that
can become incorporated into their personalities.

Why Play Therapy?

You can discover more

about a person in an
hour of play than in a
year of conversation
-Plato

"Toys and materials

should be selected,
not collected."
(Landreth, 2002, p. 133)

The toys and materials are the medium in which children in play therapy express
themselves. These therapeutically selected items serve an important role in play therapy
and should be chosen based on sound rationale.

General Guidelines for Selecting

Playroom Items

Toys should:
provide variety in choice
of expression

be durable

be simple and not be

complex

allow reality testing of

limits

allow development of
positive self-image &
self-control

Categories
of Toys

1. Real-Life Toys
This category consists of toys that are directly representative of realworld items including: doll families, dollhouse, puppets, cars, boats,
airplanes, cash register, and play money among other things.

2. Aggressive-Release Toys
This toy grouping allows for the release of emotions that are typically not
allowed to be expressed in other settings and includes Bobo or the bop
bag, toy soldiers, rubber knives, and toy guns (that purposely do not look
realistic). Less obvious, but still important are egg cartoons and Popsicle
sticks that can be physically broken down and destroyed.

3. Creative Expression Toys

This category contains toys that allow for creativity. Paints, butcher
paper and an easel, crayons, sand, water, and instruments. Depending
on the setting of the playroom, some of these items may need to be
replaced with an alternative item.

Criteria
For Selecting
Toys & Materials
TOYS SHOULD:

1. Allow for exploration

of real life experiences
including

cultural

values, traditions and

roles.
2.
with

Facilitate
the

gaining

contact
child

the

by

child's

interest and attention.

3.

Permit

reality

testing/limit setting
4.

Provide

the

opportunity
development

for
of

self-

control

5. Facilitate exploration
of the self and others.

6.

Allow

express

children
their

symbolically
any

to

needs
(without

need

for

verbalization)
7.

Provide

for

expression of a wide
range of feelings.

8. Provide opportunities
for

insight/self-

understanding.
9. Allow for creative
expression

10. Toys should also be

durable,

simple,

and

easy to operate, allow

for success & are fun

Recommended
Toy List

Real-Life & Nurturing

Real-Life & Nurturing

Acting-out,

Aggressive, Scary
Toys

Creative expression
& emotional release

Multicultural
Considerations
Toys provide children with symbols to express their experiences and gain insight.
Therefore, a variety of toys is essential to provide children the opportunity to fully
express themselves in manageable ways and in accordance to each child's
unique needs. It is recommended to include toys representative of the child's
culture and experience (toys can be added that are specific to a unique culture or
event, ex: Sept 11).
You can make your playroom culturally sensitive by including toys representative
of your clientele's cultural background. The above list identifies toys that can be
culturally responsive (note * items), examples include, but are not limited to:
inclusion of dolls/puppets of different skin colors, ethnically diverse food as well
as kitchen utensils representative of different cultures, musical instruments, hats,
and jewelry representative of diverse cultures.