Play Therapy: The Professionals Use It And So Can You

If your child is having emotional issues or seems to not be able to express their feelings verbally, use of play therapy can help. If your child is having severe issues, a professional should observe and interpret the behavior so a diagnosis and course of treatment can be recommended. However, if a child is simply having a difficult day, parents can use some of the tricks professionals use to help the child. A parent can often learn what is bothering the child by observing their play. The insight that is found with the play therapy can help the parent figure out how to help the child cope with their feelings.

Play time is a fun time for the child. Often they feel less threatened by playing and can open up a lot easier than if a parent asks them outright what is troubling them. When a parent is unsure about what is troubling the child, the play time can be very helpful. A child can act out what the issues are in a safe environment. Sometimes children do not feel like expressing themselves verbally. Other times, the child may have difficulties or be too young to be able to express themselves eloquently through verbal means. The play therapy will help this. It is a natural way for the child to engage.

Play therapy benefits children of all ages. For older children, sometimes they may have the words to express but they feel inadequate or embarrassed by their emotions. The play will help draw that out. Toddlers who do not speak yet will also benefit from this because they do not yet have the words to express their feelings. It is a common form of therapy used often with professionals. Therapists can use this to help discuss issues with parents to see if there needs to be some form of treatment. It can also be used to help the child learn the words to certain feelings. For example, if a child is angry and they do not yet know the word, they can act out an angry scene using dolls or stuffed animals. The parent can then describe how the dolls seem to be angry and ask the child if she is angry. The same can be done for all emotions such as sad, happy, disappointed, etc.

A child can also learn responsibility from play therapy. They can learn positive and negative effects based on particular actions. They can show how to act in particular situations and the parent can give suggestions for other options. For example, if a child is in a difficult situation and behaves in a manner that is not appropriate, the child can act out what actually happened. Then, the parent can act out a similar situation but replacing the child’s actions with one that is more appropriate. The child can learn from this how the behavior was inappropriate and how the alternate behavior had a better outcome. Then, the child can act out the scenario again, using the alternate ending in his own manner so he will learn.

The child also learns from play therapy the value of other people’s emotions as well as how to get in touch with their own. While play therapy is a very valuable tool in helping a child express their own emotions, they can also learn how another person may feel because of the child’s actions. For example, if a child is not sharing when playing with another child, the child may not know that he is hurting the other child. A parent can act out the situation with the child, using expressions of sadness or anger because the other child is not getting a turn to play. This will help the child realize that his actions are causing the other child to hurt.

Then, the child can act out the same scenario, changing the behavior pattern so that she is sharing the toys. The parent can play the other child and be happy, showing how nice it is to take into consideration the other child’s feelings when playing. Understanding how actions affect other people is an important part of socialization. The child can develop social skills and learn cause and effect based on actions and feelings. This is a very useful tool for toddlers who are just starting to interact with others in their peer group. It is also a great tool for child care workers to use in day cares and pre schools to help teach children how to share and play well with others.