While I get the sentiment – she wanted to help parents feel less guilt about not playing with your kids every time they ask for you to join them…. I feel that the message went too far.

My version? Parents – you don’t need to play with your children all the time.

You also don’t need to confine ‘play’ into specific ‘play times’.

Bring playfulness into everyday interactions with your child.

And sometimes, just sometimes, DO drop everything and join your child playing in their world. 

No, I don’t think this needs to be all day or for long periods of time. I do think there is so much value in joining your child in their world of play for 5-10 minutes, giving them your full attention and being open to following your child’s lead and building the fun and connection from there!

Want ideas for how to use play to support your child’s communication development?