What I wish everyone knew about children's mental health

Children need to play.

Quality play time is vital to their development, mental health, and wellbeing. We might take this for granted but research shows that children have less access to quality unstructured ‘play’ time than previous generations. This is a problem because without it, children are more likely to struggle with the cognitive, emotional, physical and social elements of their lives. Children without enough play are at increased risk of depression.

Children's access to play is being minimised in so many aspects of their lives. There has been a significant decline in outdoor play since the 1970s. Park play spaces are not being invested in, schools have reduced or no outdoor spaces, curriculums are squeezing out play in classrooms, and children are spending more time on screens at home than ever before.

Child development experts and psychologists tell us that this reduction in unstructured play is linked to the child and adolescent mental health crisis. Yet, we don’t seem to be taking play as seriously as we should.

Play therapy has taught us how children find coping strategies, develop skills, build trust, and relate to others using play. It can be transformative for a child to have a safe space to play freely, but often this therapy is seen as a ‘remedy’ to a ‘crisis’ in that child's life, rather than attending to a child's fundamental need to play. If a child has had play deprivation, therapy must first fulfil that developmental requirement.

I wish we would consider children's play more carefully. Creating space and time for it will positively impact children's mental health. It is both a fundamental need and right of a child, not something to be earned as a reward for good work.

Play itself is work. Play creates resilient, socially conscious and emotionally healthy children. Play is at the heart of children’s mental health.