Child-led play is when a child chooses what and how to play, and an adult follows their lead. It can involve activities like choosing a toy, location, or game, or deciding whether to play inside or outside. Child-led play can help children learn by keeping their interest, and it can also reveal a lot about their social and communication skills, among others.
VIDEO SUMMARY
How To Use
When engaging in intentional child-led play, the child should be allowed continuous access to a large variety of preferred items/activities. Having a bin for these items can be helpful in organization and control of access outside of child-led play times. Research supports using child-led play to improve adult-child relations, by having at least two 5-minute child-led play sessions per day (Ruppel, Hanley, & Rajaraman, 2021). In these sessions, the adult should be present and completely available to the child, but not interact with their preferred items unless the child invites them to or the adult thinks they want them to do something. The adult needs to follow the child’s lead by responding to all of the child’s attempts to interact with them socially. The adult should compliment the child at least 2 times throughout each 5-minute session. Questions to the child should be limited. The purpose is play, not work.
Problem behavior is unlikely in child-led play sessions because: 1) the child has access to many of their favorite items 2) they can interact with the items and with the adult the way that they want, and 3) they are not asked to do things they dislike. If the learner does engage in problem behavior during child-led play, the adult should acknowledge them, provide an empathetic statement, and then try to give them what you think they might be wanting. During child-led play, if the child makes a request, with words, gestures, or through other means, they should be allowed access to it, so long as it is safe and possible to do so. If you have to deny access to something, try to do so in an empathetic way and then provide a variety of available options.
When To Use
Child-led play creates a strong foundation to build trust and rapport. It can be used with any age of learner and should be used at the start of any teacher-student relationship, as well as used throughout the progression of introducing more teacher-led time. It will be a pleasant surprise when you give your child some child-led play time when they work hard at new or difficult skills. Learning how to create a child-led play context, in which problem behavior is unlikely, can be a valuable tool for you. In the future, when you want or need to avoid problem behavior, you can recreate this context.
Variations
Child-led play is based on the child’s interests and motivations. This can take on many different forms; including: dramatic play, sensory play, outdoor play, board games, ritual/non-functional play, functional play, constructive play, and more. The child should be allowed to play however they like, as long as it is same to themselves, others, and the environment.
Steps
- Try this type of play at least 2 times per day, for 5 minutes each time. Pick a time that fits the child’s mood and doesn’t compete with other activities.
- Pick a quiet place with no TV, other children, or other distractions.
- Explain that this is “special time when I will play only with you.”
- Let the child know how long you will be playing together and give a warning when only a minute or two is left. It sometimes helps to set a timer, so that your child will know when the time will end.
- Praise good behavior as soon as it resumes. The idea is: Catch the child being good!
- Try to say “yes” as much as possible; but, If you have to say “no” to something that is off limits, make sure to say it nicely and provide an empathetic statement.
- Problem behavior is very unlikely during child-led play time, if you’re doing it correctly. If for some reason, problem behavior does occur, provide an empathetic statement and try to give the child whatever you think they want/need. Don’t make them ask for anything, but rather assume what they might want/need and get that to them. You can also try to change the environment by turning down the lights, putting on calming music, giving space, etc. to try to calm the child.
Summary
Child-led play is when a child chooses what and how to play, and an adult follows their lead. It can involve activities like choosing a toy, location, or game, or deciding whether to play inside or outside. Child-led play can help children learn by keeping their interest, and it can also reveal a lot about their social and communication skills, among others.
Credits
The contents of this handout were developed under a grant from the Nebraska Department of Education, IDEA parts B and C from the U.S. Department of Education. However, this content does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Research
https://ftfbc.com/services/balance-program/
Houser NE, Roach L, Stone MR, Turner J, Kirk SFL. Let the Children Play: Scoping Review on the Implementation and Use of Loose Parts for Promoting Physical Activity Participation. AIMS Public Health. 2016 Sep 26;3(4):781-799. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2016.4.781. PMID: 29546195; PMCID: PMC5690405.
https://annarborfamily.com/online/child-led-play-development/
Ruppel KW, Hanley GP, Landa RK, Rajaraman A. An Evaluation of "Balance": a Home-Based, Parent-Implemented Program Addressing Emerging Problem Behavior. Behav Anal Pract. 2021 Feb 8;14(2):324-341. doi: 10.1007/s40617-020-00490-3. PMID: 34150449; PMCID: PMC8149514.
Schreibman L, Dawson G, Stahmer AC, Landa R, Rogers SJ, McGee GG, Kasari C, Ingersoll B, Kaiser AP, Bruinsma Y, McNerney E, Wetherby A, Halladay A. Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions: Empirically Validated Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2015 Aug;45(8):2411-28. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2407-8. PMID: 25737021; PMCID: PMC4513196.
https://www.seattlechildrens.org/health-safety/keeping-kids-healthy/development/child-directed-play/