Outdoor play helps children learn skills, develop physical strength, and benefits mental well-being. Time outdoors can also provide an opportunity to make friends. Outdoor play comes in many forms. It ...

Because play is a major outlet through which children demonstrate what is on their mind, whether they have words or not, a branch of therapy has developed around understanding children and their needs ...

In 2014, police killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice as he played with a toy gun at a Cleveland recreation center. Ma’Khia Bryant was 16 when she was killed by police, also in Ohio. In Orlando, six-year-old ...

The following story is excerpted from TIME’s special edition, The Science of Childhood, which is available in stores, at the TIME Shop and at Amazon. Nothing is as natural as a child at play. After a ...

Cooperative play is the last of the six stages of play described by sociologist Mildred Parten. Cooperative play involves children playing and working with others towards a common goal or purpose.

Play is one of the most important aspects of a child’s life. Why? Because through peekaboo, patty-cake, and playing house, children learn to think creatively and interact socially. Through play, they ...

Fear, you would think, is a negative experience to be avoided whenever possible. Yet, as everyone who has a child or once was one knows, children love to play in risky ways—ways that combine the joy ...

Michael Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

Kindergarten students play in a classroom in Washington state. Experts and researchers are calling for more play for young children to boost academic and interpersonal skills. Credit: Jackie Mader/The ...

Sandra Russ does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Listen to more stories on the Noa app. The first time that Megan Roth, an urban planner in Calgary, Canada, Googled independent play, her daughter had just received a number of toys for her second ...

Play therapy is a form of psychological treatment that can involve playing with toys, role-playing, and games. Therapists observe someone during play to gain insights about their behavior. Although ...