Helpful Toys To Have In The Playroom And At Home
The Best Toys for Play Therapy: Building Skills and Connections
As a play therapist, toys are my tools, companions, and occasional puzzles to solve. I play with them alongside children, analyze their effectiveness, and discover how they contribute to growth and healing. A toy that works wonders in the playroom often has the same magic at home. Here, I’ll share some of my favorite toys, how I use them in therapy, and the skills they help children develop.
Uno: Building Rapport and Life Skills
Why It’s Great: Uno is a fantastic game to use in early sessions to build rapport with a client. It strikes the perfect balance of being engaging yet not overwhelming, creating a space for kids to open up while they play.
What It Teaches:
Executive Functioning Skills: Playing Uno helps improve focus, organization, and planning. Choosing which card to play builds decision-making abilities.
Emotional Regulation: For kids who struggle with losing, Uno provides a safe environment to practice coping with defeat in a helpful way.
Therapeutic Twist: Assign emotions to the card colors. For example, red could represent anger, yellow for happiness, green for calmness, and blue for sadness. As children play, they can talk about situations that trigger these emotions, explore coping skills, and even role-play how to handle them. This adds a layer of emotional awareness to an already engaging game.
Perfection: Mastering Anxiety and Pressure
Why It’s Great: Perfection is a childhood classic that combines fun with real therapeutic potential. The timer and popping mechanism can create moments of tension, making it an excellent tool for kids dealing with perfectionism, performance anxiety, or difficulties focusing.
What It Teaches:
Coping with Pressure: Gradually introducing the timer helps kids learn how to manage stress and distractions.
Problem-Solving: The game’s pieces can look similar, requiring careful observation and strategy.
How I Use It: When introducing Perfection, I start without the timer so kids can focus on learning the mechanics. Next, I use a silent timer (like a phone stopwatch) to gently introduce the concept of time pressure. Finally, we use the full game with sound. After each round, we discuss how their mind and body reacted to different levels of stress. This debrief helps kids become more aware of their stress responses and practice coping strategies.
Kinetic Sand: Sensory Play and Grounding
Why It’s Great: Kinetic sand is a sensory powerhouse. Its soft texture and flowing movements provide a calming and grounding experience, especially for anxious or neurodivergent children.
What It Teaches:
Mindfulness and Grounding: Feeling the sand, watching it fall, and molding it can help children stay present and reduce anxiety.
Boundary Setting: Encouraging kids to keep the sand on the table or in the box teaches respect for boundaries and space.
Creativity and Self-Expression: Sand can be shaped into anything, fostering imagination and providing a medium for expression.
Why I Prefer It Over Play-Doh: While Play-Doh is also great, kinetic sand offers superior sensory benefits, is easier to clean, and doesn’t dry out, making it a more versatile tool for therapy.
Battleship: Navigating Emotions and Strategy
Why It’s Great: Battleship is both fun and challenging, with plenty of therapeutic opportunities built into its design. While some kids have a love/hate relationship with the game, its benefits make it a staple in my playroom.
What It Teaches:
Focus and Attention: Kids must track their ship placements and remember their guesses.
Planning and Flexibility: Strategizing attacks and adapting when plans don’t work builds cognitive flexibility.
Emotional Regulation: The game can trigger frustration, especially when pegs fall or ships are found. These moments provide opportunities to practice coping with disappointment and frustration.
Why I Keep It Around: Therapy is about growth, and growth often comes from challenges. Battleship brings out emotions and behaviors that can be explored and worked through, from identifying triggers to practicing problem-solving skills.
Jenga: Slow and Steady Wins the Game
Why It’s Great: Jenga teaches patience, focus, and problem-solving while providing a tangible way to explore emotions.
What It Teaches:
Self-Regulation: Children learn that being slow and deliberate often leads to success, contrasting with the impulse to act quickly.
Life Lessons: You can discuss how life’s challenges (represented by wobbly blocks) can make us feel unsteady and explore how to rebuild after setbacks.
Therapeutic Twist: Write questions or prompts on some of the blocks. When a child pulls one out, they answer the question or share a story. This adds depth to the game and encourages emotional exploration.
Blocks: Building Creativity and Resilience
Why They’re Great: Blocks are universal, versatile, and endlessly creative. They’re a staple in my playroom because they can meet so many therapeutic goals.
Types of Blocks and Uses:
Bristle Blocks: Great for kids with OCD or neurodivergence, as they involve sensory feedback and imperfect alignment, which can help children practice flexibility.
Wooden Blocks: These are excellent for building structures, creating symbolic walls of protection, or working through emotions when something falls apart.
Legos: Promote fine motor skills, creativity, and teamwork when used collaboratively.
What They Teach:
Gentle Movements: Preventing blocks from falling requires careful, intentional actions.
Emotional Resilience: Kids can process feelings of frustration or disappointment when their creations collapse and learn to try again.
Imagination and Self-Expression: Blocks allow for open-ended play, fostering creativity and exploration.
Final Thoughts
Each toy in the playroom has its own unique strengths, but they all share the same goal: helping children grow, learn, and express themselves. Whether it’s building rapport, fostering emotional awareness, or teaching coping skills, the right toy can make a world of difference. What are your favorite toys to use at home or in therapy? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!
Used with the assistance of AI.
