Dr. Jenny Shares Playtime Tips for Parents and Caregivers
In the latest installment of our video series, Dr. Jenny Radesky—a developmental behavioral pediatrician, mother of two, and contributor to the Living Playfully blog—shares with parents and caregivers her tips and insights on how play creates a foundation for life skills.
Watch Dr. Jenny offer practical tips as she observes children playing with the Melissa & Doug GO Tots Barnyard Tumble. As Dr. Jenny says to encourage parents and caregivers: Remember, there's no one perfect way to play…give your child the freedom to take the lead and let them play how they want.
Now streaming on YouTube: Play Tips With Dr. Jenny! Watch the video below, and be on the lookout for more great video content from Dr. Jenny and Melissa & Doug!
Highlights:
- Figure Play: Dr. Jenny notes how kids learn about empathy through figure play, which allows them to take another character's perspective, and see through their eyes.
- Storytelling: Playing with figures or characters helps kids develop their narrative storytelling ability through pretend play. Storytelling also helps build kids' attention spans, as it's an engaging way to keep the play going: Who is this character? What did they do this morning? What did they have for breakfast?
- Social Referencing: When you play directly with your child, you're making eye contact, smiling, having fun together, taking turns, learning to think about other people's perspectives—these are all key skills that will help them when the reach school age and beyond.
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