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Finding the time to play as a family can be a task on its own but incorporating it into your child’s routine has never been more important.
During the Covid-19 lockdown families were hampered in the way they could interact with one another and the rest of society.
For children this meant months of critical development being neglected or being placed on the back burner.
Since the end of the Covid restrictions, experts agree that there has been a huge rise in cases of anxiety and cognitive developmental delays among children and adolescents.
A study done by Unicef South Africa found that during the 2021/22 period, 73 per cent of children felt they required mental-health support and only half of those actively sought help.
According to Tamryn Paulsen, occupational therapist and owner of Innova OT, play serves as the perfect vehicle for children and families to better communicate and help address these issues.
"Our favourite saying at our practice is 'families who play together stay together'," Paulsen says. "Especially during times of unrest or uncertainty, now is the time to actually play with our kids."
After the pandemic socio-economic circumstances like higher cost of living, job security and loadshedding have placed immense pressure on parents to provide stability for their families.
One of the main reasons children feel anxious during times of turbulence, like a pandemic, is because their occupational role within their families and society is suddenly affected.
Where a parent’s occupational role is that of being a provider and nurturer, a child’s primary occupation centres around their daily activities like going to school, role in the family and most importantly play.
With play therapy, occupational therapists look at the family as a holistic unit along with the child’s individual developmental goals.
"We saw quite an uptake in terms of increased anxiety within the paediatric population," Paulsen says."Many of our children can’t comprehend more complex situations and events happening. Which was also a huge reflection of the anxiety parents are having."
While parents tend to shelter their children from any unrest happening inside and outside of their family unit, Paulsen encourages parents to be open and transparent with their children.
"That in itself not only offers some sort of relief for the child to express their anxiety, frustration or just even to explore that concept, but it also offers relief as a family for parents to express themselves."
READ MORE| How to deal with an anxious child
Play in fact is so important that it is listed as one of the basic rights of children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recognises "the right of every child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities and free and full participation in cultural and artistic life".
Paulsen advises parents to go back to the basics when it comes to play and to seek professional help with the issues they struggle to navigate.
"Dedicate time in your day to really play and be silly as a family and boost the amount of social opportunities for your child. Get curious about things that are happening around you and invite play to communicate the things that are really difficult to express."
EXTRA SOURCES: UNICEF.ORG, PARLIAMENT.GOV.ZA
