Therapeutic child-centred play – the dance back to unchained joy

‘Therapeutic child-centred play – the dance back to unchained joy’ blog article was written by Jo Newbold, Senior Consultant, Parenting and Early Years Program at Australian Childhood Foundation. 

“Play turns out to be so stunningly essential to childhood; it’s like love, sunshine, and broccoli all juiced together.” Lenore Skenazy 

Play is the universal language of children.

It is an essential part of children’s development, how they learn, express themselves, resolve problems, and make sense of their world. The scientist Jaak Panksepp, nicknamed “the Rat Tickler”, discovered that play impulses come from a deep and primitive part of the brain – indicating that play is essential for our survival.  

By observing a child’s play, you get a glimpse into their world.

When parents engage in play, they connect with their children on a deeper level, building trust with them and laying down essential foundations for emotional security. By being present and responsive during play, parents create an environment where their children feel safe and understood.  

Parent-child play can be therapeutic, especially during challenging times.  

More specifically, child-centred play offers many therapeutic benefits for women and their children traumatised by the experience of domestic and family violence (DFV). The Australian Childhood Foundation team based at Naala Djookan Healing Centre in Perth, WA, recently incorporated child-centred play into a new school holiday program, ‘Family Fun Time’, for mothers and children affected by DFV.

Naala Djookan Healing Centre has been developed as a Hub Model in partnership with the local government, the Foundation, and other specialist organisations.

The Centre supports women, children, and families at risk of or experiencing DFV to access the support and assistance they require to promote safe, healthy relationships and overall well-being. 

Caught up in the cycle of violence, mothers and children suffer many harmful consequences of DFV.

It destabilises the foundations of their world and undermines the strengths of their relationships. Their minds and bodies must work overtime, predicting and responding to the constant threat of danger. 

Children affected by DFV are robbed of the sense of safety necessary for their optimal development. The space for curiosity and playful delight is stolen from them. Shackled by fearfulness and confusion, children are silenced and powerless to change or control their circumstances. Their need for connection to a safe caregiver creates immense tension as they experience caregivers as unsafe or unavailable.

This seemingly irresolvable paradox gives shape to their template for future relationships.  

Child-centred play invites parents to offer undivided attention and interest in the child’s ideas and play. It is based on the belief that through caring interactions with trusted adults in a safe space, children can “play out” their life experiences and work through them in a developmentally appropriate way.

Informed by the Foundation’s WA practice Guide, Trust, Safety and Participation: Supporting children and young people affected by domestic and family violence, the Family Fun Time program approach focused on prioritising relational safety, privileging the voice of children, and placing them at the centre of the intervention. Smyth, Hayes, Millet, Lodge, Tucci, and Wasarirevu, (2002). 

Children were personally invited to attend the program, which began with a celebration of the children as experts in their play, placing them in charge of their playtime and giving permission to voice how they would like their adults to follow their lead. 

In preparation for the event, mothers were contacted in advance and given insights into the approach and benefits of child-centred play, enabling them to be prepared to step into the space of recognising and responding to their children’s needs with undivided attention. 

To bring about moments for the restoration of play and shared curiosity, five different play activities were designed to offer children and adults experiences that were safe, interactive, creative, and sensory-based.

To ensure each family had a chance to try out the various activities, the program facilitators embedded repeated moments of gathering together, where family groups moved from play stations to a central space to regulate rhythmic movement. This playful coming together and moving out also gave children a chance to practice beginnings and endings. 

As mothers and children interacted playfully together, children received messages of relational safety and experiences of softness in their relationships.

Contributing to a sense of acceptance and connection between mothers and children, these playful interactions assisted in building children’s emotional resilience. Children cultivated agency whilst designing imaginary worlds and stories with recycled materials, boxes, blankets, tape, and textas. 

Children’s strengths shone through in the micro-moments of resolving challenges independently or through directing any adult assistance required. 

Along with opportunities to rebuild the trust that may have been jeopardised by the violence, the play time allowed for the creation of lasting memories that may help to reshape the narrative of each child’s world and their relational templates.  

At the end of the program, children were provided with feedback forms to acknowledge and prioritise their views and opinions.

The feedback provided was very positive, with children saying they enjoyed the program, felt listened to, and would like to attend future programs. Parents’ feedback indicated this experience was a reminder of the simple yet joyful delight of playing with their children. Parents delighted in seeing how their children flourished when given the power to take charge and lead the playtime.

They also felt reassured by the knowledge that these joyful moments of child-centred play may aid in breaking the chains of the past and offer opportunities for healing and recovery.  

References: 

• NPREd. (2014, August 4). Brains at Play – Jaak Panksepp [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OriFlkeTqbU  
• Smyth, D., Hayes, C., Millet, L., Lodge, P., Tucci, J. and Wasarirevu, N. (2002). Trust, Safety and Participation: Supporting Children and young people affected by domestic and family violence, A Western Australian Practice Guide. Australian Childhood Foundation, Perth. 

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