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A Focus on Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health
June 2023
Is this play ok?
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This newsletter focuses on sharing information on infant/early childhood mental health and
the importance of relationship-based approaches and supports that help infants and young children feel safe, supported, and valued by the adults around them. The newsletter, and the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) program, is made possible by a partnership between the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Key.
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Young children love to pretend. Pretend play helps children learn about themselves and their role in the world around them.
According to NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), the five essential elements of play are:
- Children make their own decisions.
- Children are intrinsically motivated.
- Children become immersed in the moment.
- Play is spontaneous, not scripted.
- Play is enjoyable.
But what do we do when play feels unsafe (such as wrestling)? Or when children act out violent scenarios? Or use materials to make guns? This issue of the IECMH Newsletter will explore the concepts of Big Body Play, superhero play, and gun play. We hope you will find helpful resources to safely support the children in your care while allowing for their individual expression and exploration.
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Play is self-chosen, self-directed, and imaginative. But what if children choose to play in ways we are uncomfortable with? It is very common for preschool children to engage in gun play or war play. Children who have a hard time joining social play often find success in this type of play. Unfortunately, teachers often ignore this type of play or ban it completely, but neither approach meets the needs of children. This type of play offers children a explore and experience power and consent.
In this webinar, early childhood expert and author Mike Huber will help us step back and look at war play to appreciate how it can be an important mode of self-expression for some children.
We have all observed children playing “bad guys” in their pretend play, and grappled with whether to intervene or not, and if so, how to handle those moments. If you typically encourage creative and spontaneous imaginative play you are likely to be unsure how to constructively respond to violent imaginative play. In this webinar, Donna King, a preschool teacher, and author of Pursuing Bad Guys: Joining Children’s Quest for Clarity Courage and Community, and Pam, a pedagogical consultant, will tell the story of their work together on a specific approach and the stories of how the approach works.
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Children – both boys and girls – seem to love the experience of big-body play. It can be fun and help children develop social and physical skills. Once you learn to recognize what it looks like and how to keep it safe, you can feel good about allowing and supporting it within your program as a developmentally appropriate and important part of children’s naturally occurring play.
What is Rough and Tumble Play? An Educator’s Guide. Rough and tumble play is its own category of activity for children, and researchers have investigated whether it’s beneficial or simply kids causing a ruckus. With the dangers of some of the ways kids like to play, it’s worth wondering whether teachers and parents should forbid these activities—or if there’s an acceptable middle ground to be found. If you’re wondering whether rough and tumble play is safe and beneficial or harmful and dangerous, keep reading.
Embracing Rough and Tumble Play with Redleaf Press Author Mike Huber Video 4:17. Physical play is vital to young children's development —discover how children learn best when using their whole body. Help cultivate children's confidence with big body play. Embracing Rough-and-Tumble Play by Mike Huber is a practical hands-on resource to help you use physical play to make your teaching practice more dynamic and effective.
Rough in a Good Way – Supporting Big Body Play. Big body play is an enjoyable and valuable play style for children. It is different than fighting. In rough play, the children are usually smiling and laughing and look for the paly to continue. Teachers can do three things to provide for and support safe, rough play: prepare the environment, establish rules and supervise and step in when needed.
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Super Hero Play. Super hero play is commonly defined as a type of imaginative or dramatic play where children can use action figures, costumes, or props to imitate and pretend to be their favorite superhero character. Superhero play gives children the opportunity to be strong and powerful, encourages them to make new friends and helps them develop an identity outside of real life. It can help kids explore moral values and dilemmas and establish what they and others perceiver as right and wrong.
Supporting super hero play in child care: Concerns and benefits. We know the benefits that play offers children, but what happens when that play turns to super hero, violent or war-focused play? Is there a benefit to children by allowing them to engage in this type of play? Learn the concerns and benefits in allowing super hero, violent or war play in child care settings
Superhero Play for Preschoolers Video 3:08. BAM! POW! Did you know that it's not only OK to play rough, or "power play," with preschool aged kids? It's actually developmentally appropriate, helping them learn social-emotional skills and test boundaries. In this episode, Rachel demonstrates some tips on how to play rough, have fun, and be safe, with early learners.
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Children will choose to play in ways we are uncomfortable with. Many experts agree that if you ban gun or weapon play completely it becomes more of an issue. It rarely works and they are still going to do it. So, since this play inevitably happens, how do we balance the legitimate concerns and the benefits?
Understanding Gun Play: A Teacher’s Journey. “Learning how children’s pretend play develops over time gave me a new perspective on what was happening with the children in my classroom and helped me work through my own difficulties with superhero and gun play” Kenneth Sherman
Ensuring that Children’s War Play is Healthy, Safe, and Positive. Many child care providers and parents fear that pretend play that includes guns or fighting will encourage aggression in the children who are playing and will cause other children to feel intimidated. It’s these legitimate concerns that cause most teachers to forbid such play altogether in their classrooms. But there is another solution – one that supports the need of some children to play out violent scenarios while also supporting the need of other children to feel safe and relaxed in their child care program.
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Play is a way children process what they see in real life, is an outlet for expressing feelings and helps children develop and practice language skills, social skills, gross motor and thinking skills. Play supports building children’s imagination and creativity which in turn allows them to build their thinking skills. But what happens when that play turns to superhero, violent or war-focused play? Is there a benefit to children by allowing them to engage in this type of play?
Rough and Tumble Play: A Guide. Rough-and-tumble play is when children do things like climb over each other, wrestle, roll around and even pretend to fight. Rough play is probably a basic human instinct that helps children develop many skills – but mostly children like this kind of play because it’s fun!
When Children Play “Bad Guys.” Play can help children process frightening news. There are a few ways you might use children’s play to help them work through difficult events.
Pretend Guns: Why Do Some Kids Love Games that Go Bang-Bang? From playing cops and robbers to making Lego® guns and drawing pictures of battles, a fascination with gun play is normal for many boys—and some girls, too. But it can also be really distressing for parents, who may worry that this kind of play can lead to violent behaviors later.
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IECMH Consultation helps adults strengthen their relationships with young children and build capacity to respond to children’s social-emotional needs. IECMHC can help reduce caregiver stress, as well as increase caregivers’ reflective practice skills.
IECMH Consultants are available by appointment to provide IECMHC Virtual Office Hours consultation via telephone or video conference. IECMHC Virtual Office Hours is a short-term, collaborative, problem-solving conversation to help you find next steps for: Child Social-Emotional Concerns | Child Behavioral or Developmental Concerns Emotional Well-being of Teachers and Caregivers | Partnering with Families.
Appointments are held on the first and third Fridays of the month, or other days/times by request. Get more info.
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Programs and families can contact the program leadership directly at PAIECMH@pakeys.org with questions or concerns.
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With the generous support of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), the Pennsylvania Key IECMH Consultation team was able to add staff member, Lauren Walter, to support School Age Child Care (SACC) programs participating in Keystone STARS. This service will be primarily tele-consultation support. Click here to request support.
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Share your feedback! We'd like to hear what you think about infant early childhood mental health. Are there resources you'd like to see? Questions you have? Tell us! Send your feedback to PAIECMH@pakeys.org.
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