Engaging parents in play
Written By: Author(s): Polly Crowther
5 min read
Polly Crowther, Co-Founder, Early Insights, ELE, East London Research School, UK
What parents do at home makes a huge difference to children’s progress (EEF, 2021). We know that play is a powerful way for young children to learn, and we know that sometimes parents find play difficult (Gutman and Feinstein, 2008). Research into the barriers to play can help Early Years educators to identify ways in which to lower them. The Early Insights global community (https://earlyinsights.org) has used this to identify practical innovations with a sound research basis.
Why should parents play?
Play is critical for early child development. It has particular benefits for the development of executive functions, so rapid at this stage of life (Zosh et al., 2017). It forms part of sensitive, responsive caregiver relationships that help young children to flourish (Jeong et al., 2021). Some studies connect parental play with progress and executive function (Skene et al., 2022; Ramchandani et al., 202
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References
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