Parent-Child Social Play in a Children's Museum

     This article is about the importance of pretend play. A case study was design to show how parents and children interact with pretend play. The results from the case study gave a better understanding why parents and children did not fully engage in the pretend play suggested by the exhibit. The procedure involved four to six year olds and their parent(s). The exhibit was of a pretend grocery store. The observer analysis what they did and their interaction. The data was coded in four phases. In the first phase of the open coding, defined as a single comment contributed by one participant. This  was emerged were pretend play, exploring, and self-regulatory. Concepts consisted of parents trying to engage children in classifying, counting, and weighing; and exploring social concept. Interrater reliability of coded utterances in 30% of transcripts was 96%Phase two: pretend play emerging as the central phenomenon. Role taking and pretend play appeared to be the means for many other activities, including exploring concepts and self regulatory guilding. In the third phase, in order to organize the data into a story line reflecting the pretend play of each parent-child dyad, each  dyad was written in a transcript. In the fourth phase, the play narratives were revealed in relationship and strategies for initiating and maintaining play and the consequences to play interaction. Results of the experiment, they role played, initiating, maintaining, and disrupting play. while children entered pretend play immediately without explicitly organizing the roles, activities, or sequence of play script. 

Intensive Child-Centered Play Therapy in a Remote Australian Aboriginal Community

Melanny Sanchez

Prof. Chacra

Uconn ECE Fam. & Indv.

27 November 2019

Period 6.


Intensive Child-Centered Play Therapy in a Remote Australian Aboriginal Community

     This article explores the significance of the mental process of children, for example; the psychological, emotional, social, and physical health of individual children is very crucial for adulthood. If any hindrance in their development, then it can still carry on to adulthood. In Aboriginal parts of Australia, a few studies have looked into mental treatment programs for children under the age of 12. They believe that difficulties in childhoods are conceived as negatives experiences that includes emotional impoverishment from a caregiver, mental illness, child abuse, chronic medical conditions, neglect, family violence, and absence of touch. Thus, the program has turned to Child-Centered Play Therapy and Intensive Child-Centered Play Therapy. Child-Centered Play Therapy is a mental health intervention that facilities children's growth through play. This type of Therapy helps by introducing children on how to work through traumatic experiences, emotional, behavioral, and psychological difficulties. Children that receive CCPT, help the parents and teachers receive education and skills in how to utilize child play therapy.  Intensive Child-Centered Play Therapy is when child therapy is given one session a week, over a 10-week period. This study shows the effectiveness of ICCPT where a child had experienced trauma. In conclusion, this program shows that child play therapy has influenced children in a positive way. Through Intensive Child-Centered Play Therapy and Child-Centered Play Therapy, they are able to be mentally stable. 

Using Play Therapy Techniques in a Bowenian Theoretical Context

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Adriana Rabita
UCONN ECE
Period 6

Using Play Therapy Techniques in a Bowenian Theoretical Context

          The Bowen Theory simply is a theory of human behavior that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit. It is the nature of a family that its members are intensely connected emotionally. According to this theory, a person’s best thinking and functioning comes from being able to understand and use facts, rather than relying on emotions or feelings. This theory connects with play therapy because since play therapy helps parents communicate with their children this carries through with Bowen's theory. Play therapy techniques include a variety of activities that are designed to provide communication with children. These activities give children an opportunity to express their feelings about what is happening in their lives. The play therapy activities of art, sand tray, and puppets were chosen to demonstrate a full range of visual, kinesthetic, and auditory experience. These activities provide children with a wide variety of opportunities to express themselves in the context of therapy. Giving the participants the freedom to create their own world through play helps the therapist provide structure for the child.

Nims, D. R., & Duba, J. D. (2011). Using Play Therapy Techniques in a Bowenian Theoretical Context. The Family Journal, 19(1), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480710387370

Children at play: an innovative method for studying and teaching nutritional behaviors

Children at Play: An Innovative Method for Studying and Teaching Nutritional Behaviors 

This article evaluates all the aspects true to children's play but most importantly the signs we can conclude about a Childs nutritional behaviors through their play and decisions based off of those behaviors. Play enhances and creates many beneficial factors for growing children. Not only does play develop their imagination, dexterity, physical, emotional and cognitive strength, it also creates  healthy brain development and helps them engage at a very early age with the world around them. Through their play and interactions we can influence nutritional behaviors that will promote health and prevent obesity. Through interactions with children we must show them  healthy eating behaviors in age-appropriate and applicable ways. An example of this is done at the ages 5-8, where children are introduced to different food groups through the food triangle. The more positive and healthy alternatives we show children at an early age the more behavioral influences we can have on their lives and eating habits. These nutritional behaviors are all affected by their social influences like parents, teachers and friends around them and it is a necessity that we promote to children healthy alternatives throughout their developmental periods to create better habits and a better lifestyle for these children. Through their play children are not only being affected emotionally but also physically whether it is done correctly or incorrectly. 

Lynch, M. (2012). Children at Play: An Innovative Method for Studying and Teaching Nutritional Behaviors. Pediatric Nursing, 38(3), 139–143. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=104460718&site=ehost-live

Why child centered play therapists should care about play based social interventions for youth with ASD

Why child-centered play therapists should care about play based social interventions for youth with ASD
Jeffrey MacCormick

Child centered play therapy supports academic success, behavior outcomes, reducing relationship stress, and improving child-parent relationships. Play is a way for children to work through developmental tensions and progress in their own growth. The approach of therapy for multiple children simultaneously allows for the expression of interpersonal dynamics and relationships among the group members. The therapeutic usefulness of play has been the focus of much research. Researches that study play-based social interventions for youth with autism spectrum disorder also investigate play and its value for development. Children with ASD tend to prefer objects and activities of personal interest over social interactions with age-appropriate peers. LEGO-based therapy is an evidence-based practice that provides youth with ASD an opportunity to practice social interactions with guided support from a trained adult during structured play, and then applying it to unstructured play. When choosing play materials, toys should promote self-direction and facilitate wide variety of play experiences. A 10 year old boy with ASD had perseverative difficulties interacting with other children. His engagement in in various activities, such as minecraft, far exceeded his interest and ability for engaging in meaningful interactions with peers.

MacCormack, J. (2019). Part 1: Why child-centered play therapists should care about play-based social interventions for youth with ASD. International Journal of Play Therapy, 28(3), 157–167. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1037/pla0000099

The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter

Over the years we have noticed play therapy has been declining in popularity. Play therapy is used for children who do not know how to express themselves especially for children who do not speak. During the process of play the child can "tell" the therapist how they feel and why they are behaving the way they are. The children use play in order to speak to their therapist. The therapist respond with tracking, tracking is a way to keep the child engaged and a way to let the child know that you are listening. For example, Charlie a 12 year old boy started using play therapy because his mother realized after the father left the family and he was also paralyzed. He expressed his feeling through the stuffed animals that he had played with. Overtime the therapist realized it was his emotions in the stuffed animals. Charlie soon started to act happy again.



Boyle-Toledo, K. (2019, February). Why play? Thoughts on evidence-based
     treatments and why play therapy is still relevant. The Brown University
     Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter , 35(2), 1-7. Retrieved from Child
     Development and Adolescent Studies database.

Play Behavior and Attachment in Toddlers with Autism

Play Behavior and Attachment in Toddlers with Autism

By: Fabiënne B. A. Naber, ET AL

As we all know Play is important, Play develops many skills such as social skills but children with disabilities like autism have a harder time with developing these skills. Author Fabiënne B. A. Naber and others investigates the manipulative, functional and symbolic play of children with autism and children without autism. Play not only develops social skills but it also develops motor and cognitive skills. Manipulation play has to do with sniffing, licking, turing a toy and/or throwing it. symbolic play is considered a high and more advanced level of play, the reason why is because it involves pretence. Children with autism tend to struggle with developing symbolic play since pretence cant always be present in functional play. Play helps develop all these skills but it also develops negotiation, trust and the idea of compromising.
Children that have a secure attachment tend to be more advanced and independent and children who are insecure tend to have a hard time becoming independent and not trust as much. Author Naber and her team conducted a project and have two control groups. One group who were doubted about the development and the other group were well cared for. They have seen that children that were well cared for were more comfortable with being on their own, they were independent.
Children with autism tend to not take their time or spend less time playing with their "toys". Like balls, a doll, a toy car, books, and puzzles.  

Naber, F. B. A., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Swinkels, S. H. N., Buitelaar, J. K., Dietz, C., … van Engeland, H. (2008). Play behavior and attachment in toddlers with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(5), 857–866. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1007/s10803-007-0454-5