the value of Play Toys are a vital part of play as they spark ideas and inspire children to play and learn. The Value of Play is an important message from the Australian Toy Association and its members as it supports children’s social, emotional and intellectual development. In 2003 the original Value of Play Campaign was developed in the UK to encourage and promote the benefits of play for children. They associated play with cognitive development, fitness, confidence, abilities, imagination and much more. The Australian Toy Association (ATA) in partnership and through the licensing of the Genius of Play program from the US Toy Association, relaunched its own Value of Play in 2019 for Australian Families and included a new look, standalone website as well as social media sites. The ATA believes play is serious business and we are equally committed to promoting safe, educational and most importantly, fun play opportunities among children of all ages.
“Without play we believe that kids may not learn the skills they need for a happy and capable adult hood� This resource has been widely accepted throughout Australia and in recent times, the Value of Play website has seen a large increase in traffic, especially during both the initial COVID-19 national lockdown and more recently the Victorian lockdown imposed over the past few months We are immensely pleased that families were able to use this resource at a time when children were unable to socialise with friends both at school and other activities but on the upside, could spend more time interacting with family.
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The parental role in encouraging and supporting play and helping children develop strong social and emotional skills is now well recognised. The Value of Play has been of enormous assistance in achieving balance and offering ideas to assist children make sense of what is going on in their world while continuing to enjoy a laugh and quality time as a family. Parents can assist children by looking for ways to make play part of each day. Play can be educational, it can be creative, it can be musical, or it can be active. But first and foremost, play is fun. Creative play allows children to express themselves. This could be by drawing, painting, singing, playing music, making a cubby under the kitchen table, building sandcastles at the beach or constructing things out of recycled boxes and cartons and a roll of tape. Dramatic play is where children designate roles or act out situations, they may see in daily life such as playing doctors and nurses with their teddies or dolls. This may extend to imaginary play where children pretend, they are fairies, dragons or astronauts in space. Active play includes anything that gets us moving. Active play is dancing around the living room, throwing a ball, riding a bike, climbing trees, playing at the playground, or a game of organised sport.
