Play has therapeutic power in healthcare and humanitarian settings
We have a collective responsibility to enable all children, in every setting, to have opportunities to play, write Johanna Thomson and Sophie Janet Imagine an intervention that could dramatically improve a child’s health and wellbeing. That could be provided anywhere, at any time. Something that could be prescribed safely and for free by anyone, without negative side effects, and easily tailored to a child’s age and needs. That intervention exists: play. Play is vital for a child’s life and health. Play is any activity that is intrinsically motivated and engaged in for the purpose of joyful discovery.1 It is essential for normal physical, social, emotional, and cognitive wellbeing.2 Through play, children make sense of the world around them, express emotions, and build relationships. Children will naturally engage in play activities that stimulate brain development.3 Through playful experiences, neural connections are forged, laying the foundation for lifelong learning. Brain developme
