Play is more than just fun and games for children. It’s a crucial element of healthy development, shaping their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional well-being. Through play, children explore ...

Sensory play is more than just fun and games. It's a vital component of childhood development. The rich neural pathways formed through sensory play facilitate learning and growth in all children, ...

Experts have identified a number of styles of play that children engage in, which are key parts of their development. The 6 stages of play are: unoccupied. playing alone. onlooker. parallel.

As the school year revs up, a renowned child developmental psychologist highlights the robust benefits of pretend play on cognitive, social, and emotional development in children and cautions how ...

When was the last time you saw a child completely absorbed in play—building a block tower, chasing friends through a backyard, or creating imaginary worlds with whatever materials they could find?

With the help of their stuffed animals or figurines, many toddlers and preschoolers play “teacher,” “doctor” or “firefighter,” drawing early inspiration from the careers they observe in their ...

When Krystyna Kalishevskyi emigrated from Ukraine with her family last year, she had experienced more trauma and fear than a 4-year-old can cope with. Going to school in California was a big challenge ...

Research shows guided play is the most effective type of play for helping children learn. Credit: Jackie Mader/The Hechinger Report The Hechinger Report covers one topic: education. Sign up for our ...

Childhood is a critical period for the development of foundational cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills that ...

I have been fortunate in my almost 20 years as an early childhood educator to have taught in a variety of settings: childcare, preschool, K-5 classrooms, summer school, and children’s tutoring ...

Amid growing national interest in physical activity and youth development, trends in sports participation are shifting. Youth sports participation is rising across the United States, reaching its ...