Playful Learning and Joyful Parenting

WHITE PAPER

Playful Learning and

Joyful Parenting

LEGO Fonden

Højmarksvej 8

DK-7190 Billund

CVR. nr.: 12458339

ISBN:

www.LearningThroughPlay.com

Charlotte Anne Wright, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek & Bo Stjerne Thomsen

2022

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

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Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

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Contents

Key messages • 3

Parenting today • 5

Parent engagement in playful

learning across a spectrum • 9

The ve characteristics of

learning through play • 15

Fifteen approaches to bring

the characteristics to life • 17

Actively engaging • 21

Meaningful • 25

Socially interactive • 31

Iterative • 37

Joyful • 41

How to support parents to engage

their children in playful learning • 45

Framing the content • 46

Honouring the context • 50

Identifying key conduits • 51

Future research directions • 53

Closing thoughts • 55

References • 57

Acknowledgements

We extend gratitude to Adrián A. Pedroza,

Dr. Brenda Jones Harden, Dr. Dana Suskind,

Dr. Margaret Caspe and Merrill Gay who

generously shared their time and invaluable

expert insight with us. We are grateful for the

support from colleagues at Temple Infant

and Child Lab and the LEGO Foundation who

provided constructive feedback and ideas

along the way. Special thanks to Ally Masters,

Katelyn Fletcher, Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova,

Riley Cullen, Aaron Morris and Anne Holme.

Last but certainly not least, we appreciate

Gail Albert, who tirelessly supported every

step of this project.

Cite as:

Wright, C.A., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Thomsen,

B.S. (2022). Playful Learning and Joyful

Parenting [White paper]. The Lego

Foundation. www.learningthroughplay.com

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

Science conrms the powerful role parents

play in shaping their child’s short- and long-

term success and well-being.

There is no doubt that normal, everyday

parent–child interactions help shape a child’s

life trajectory. From infancy, early parent–

child engagements build a child’s brain archi-

tecture. The experience of a sensitive and

responsive parent throughout childhood

positively impacts a child’s achievement and

social-emotional competencies through ad-

olescence, and even into adulthood.

The current moment represents an urgent

opportunity to inspire more joyful parent-

ing by giving parents permission to let their

children play.

Parents have been told how to parent for

centuries. The parenting industry has cre-

ated a culture of hurried parenting in more

recent years – a culture where parents feel

constant pressure to prepare their child for

the future, rather than enjoy and nurture

them in the present. The stressors of COV-

ID-19 have only exacerbated demands on

parents. Throughout all of this, a key piece of

what makes parenting so powerful is miss-

ing – joy. It is time to bring joy to parenting

by illuminating how something as seemingly

simple and fun as play can prepare children

for the 21st century.

Parents can use the characteristics of play-

ful learning to bring joy and learning into

daily interactions and routines.

This paper consolidates research ndings to

oer 15 behaviours and actions that can be

nested into normal parent–child interactions

to foster the ve characteristics of learning

through play in spaces and activities that

make up an average day in the life of families.

The menu of approaches is not another ‘how-

to book’ or ‘manual’ for parents to pore over

and follow meticulously. Rather, it is a toolbox

that brings the science of learning and devel-

opment to life for parents in a manageable

and meaningful way.

Programmes can empower parents across

dierent cultures and contexts to engage in

playful learning.

Parents can change the lens on how they

view everyday interactions with their child

when they are supported to understand how

play connects to the science of learning and

how playful learning can contribute to their

desired outcomes. Programmes should

engage parents as partners to better under-

stand and appreciate how playful learning

comes to life in unique and culturally varied

contexts. Programmes can consider an array

of conduits to promote accessibility and the

inclusion of all parents.

Key messages

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Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

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Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

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Parenting today

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

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Parents* are the most important people in a

child’s life

Parents are a child’s rst teachers, brain

builders, the social navigators and the foun-

dation for children’s emotional well-being.

If we look beneath the surface of parent–

child actions, we begin to see the richness

of learning and social growth embedded in

the recesses of every interaction. A moth-

er soothing her crying infant oers a live

demonstration of how to create a safe space

– a chance to reinforce calm in what might

seem like chaos to the young child. When a

father builds a sandcastle with his sons, he

is ‘just playing’ to some, but to the trained

eye he is modelling sharing, a beautifully

timed back-and-forth engagement that is a

bedrock for learning. Parents travel through

these mini engagements multiple times per

hour, rarely mindful of the lasting impact that

they are having on their child’s life trajecto-

ries. A sensitive and joyful parent is a critical

piece of a child’s ecosystem. The better we

understand the components that help par-

ents interact with their children in positive

ways, the more we nd that joyful, respon-

sive parenting supports children’s develop-

ment. This paper illuminates the behavioural

jewels often naturally occurring in parent–

child engagements. It uses the latest and

best science to make the case that encour-

aging small nuggets of change in everyday

moments can enrich the experience of being

a parent while helping every child reach their

full potential.

*We dene a parent as any family member, caregiver or guardi-

an who plays a lead role in caring for a child.

A reality check: Parents are inundated with

a tsunami of information about how to par-

ent

Parenting gurus are not new. The rst known

book with parenting advice dates back to

1544 when author Thomas Phaer urged new

mothers to use pigeon blood to stop a ba-

by’s crying and rub rabbit brains on the gums

of their teething infant. This advice would

hardly be considered sane today. More re-

cently, the iconic Dr Spock warned parents

to avoid turning on the vacuum cleaner lest

it scare the child. The advice keeps coming

and parents are left wondering which titbits

should be treasured and which trashed. Since

Phaer’s ‘The Boke of Chyldren,’ hundreds

of millions of books brimming with sound

and well-worn advice for parents have been

published. Today, a simple Google search

of ‘parenting books’ yields over 200 million

results! And that count does not even include

the handouts, blogs, newsletters, advice col-

umns and parenting sections in newspapers,

among others. Indeed, telling parents what to

do has become a multibillion-dollar industry,

with investors ‘capitalizing’ on the ‘economic

opportunity’ oered by millennial parents

(Bossi, 2020; Klich, 2019).

While scientic research nds a strong con-

nection between the time a child spends in

unstructured activities and better self-di-

rected learning skills, like making and working

towards their own goals (Barker et al., 2014)

the parenting industry provides a laundry list

of structured activities that parents ‘must’

provide if they want their child to succeed

(Paul, 2008). The result is what psychologist

David Elkind calls the ‘hurried child’ syndrome

(Elkind, 1981, 2006). Behind every ‘hurried

child’ we nd a hurried parent trying to sort

out which advice to heed (Hirsh-Pasek, Go-

linko & Eyer, 2004). The culture of hurried

parenting creates a climate in which parents

are pressured to prepare their children to

‘win at the starting line’, rather than enjoy

and nurture their children in the present (Li

& Chen, 2017, p. 1474). For many, childhood

has started to feel like a race rather than a

destination in and of itself.

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Hurried child, hurried parent: A global

challenge

Both academic studies and popular media

have documented the hurried child, hurried

parent syndrome. From Nigeria (Ogundare,

2021) to South Korea (Shin, Jahng & Kim,

2019) to Canada (Hennig, 2017) to Britain

(Kirkova, 2014) evidence of the oversched-

uling of children and concern about the

pressure parents feel to give their child an

academic edge are rising. Increases in par-

ents’ investment of time and money in their

children, particularly among middle- and

upper-class families, present evidence of

shifting parenting norms (Gauthier & de

Jong, 2021; Kornrich & Furstenberg, 2012).

The concept that parents should invest a

substantial amount of time and money to set

their child up for success has become nor-

malized around the world (Faircloth, 2014;

Gauthier et al., 2021; Shin, Jahng & Kim,

2019; Sjödin & Roman, 2018). Many parents

who do not have the nancial means to enroll

their children in many activities still believe

this is something they should be doing (Ben-

nett, Lutz & Jayaram, 2012; Chin & Phillips,

2004; Ishizuka, 2019).

COVID-19: The ultimate parent stressor

Stressors for modern-day parents were only

exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Ad-

ams et al., 2021; Brown et al., 2020; Kurata et

al., 2021). Parents had children at home 24/7

as schools and public services closed and

went into lockdown. They were told that they

needed to avert learning loss, support their

children to manage emotional strain, and

help their child stay safe from a deadly virus.

The avalanche of advice columns and news

items aimed at parents during COVID-19 was

suocating. How could a parent allay fears,

explain why children were not able to see

their friends, and keep them glued to remote

learning, all while trying to cope themselves

and keep up with their own responsibilities

(Bennett, 2020; Cooney, 2020)? Put simply,

parents needed some recess themselves to

manage constant demands and stressors

(Freisthler et al., 2021).

Bringing joy to parenting through playful

learning

Parenting has always required hard work,

but perhaps the current storm of stressors

makes this a perfect time to start a move-

ment for playful learning and joyful parenting.

Although the parenting industry may tell par-

ents otherwise, science indicates that par-

ents need not stress over buying expensive

toys, downloading the latest educational app,

or lling their child’s schedule with structured

activities to accelerate their learning. Rather,

a considerable amount of current research

suggests that children can develop the skills

they need for the 21st century and parents

can nd joy from something more natural –

playful learning.

Opportunities for playful learning are right

before our eyes if we only know where to

look. A walk through the park sparks exper-

imentation with shadows, a ride on the bus

is an opportunity to incorporate a search for

dierent shapes in the road signs, a trip to

the laundromat could nish with a race to

make pairs of socks. Looking beneath the

surface allows parents to change the lens on

how they view the everyday experiences in

their life. It highlights how parents can enrich

and populate these moments in ways that

support playful learning and, in turn, foster

joyful parenting and happy, social, thinking

children.

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Parent engagement

in playful learning

across a spectrum

Play is historically hard to dene (e.g., Ber-

gen, 1988; Gray, 2017; Sutton-Smith, 1997).

Today, most agree that play is best concep-

tualized across a spectrum reecting varying

degrees of child and adult involvement in the

experience, including choice and structure

and the presence of a learning goal (Figure

1; see Zosh et al., 2017, 2018; 2022). The

spectrum of play begins with free play which

is child-initiated and child-directed. Next is

guided play where children maintain autono-

my while adults guide them towards a tar-

geted learning goal through scaolding and

pre-preparation of the environment (Weis-

berg, Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2016). Games have

set rules and constraints for play embedded

within their structure (see Hassinger-Das et

al., 2017). The spectrum ends with direct in-

struction, which is adult-designed and con-

trolled. Direct instruction is no longer playful

learning but rather can be ‘chocolate covered

broccoli’ (Habgood & Ainsworth, 2011, p.

172), meaning it may be disguised as play

(for example, when a parent instructs their

child to write letters in soap suds during bath

time), but it remains direct instruction.

FREE

PL AY

Child-led Child-led,

adult-scaﬀolded

Adult-designed /

scaﬀolded. Set rules

and constraints for play

Adult-designed /

controlled. Set

constraints for activity

GUIDED

PL AY

DIRECT

INSTRUCTION

GAMES

PLAYFUL LEARNING

Figure 1. The play spectrum (as seen in Zosh et al., 2017)

If children are overscheduled, they no longer

have time for free play. Yet, free play is fun-

damental to a child’s well-being (Milteer et

al., 2012). Experiences of free play in tod-

dlerhood and the preschool years predict a

child’s ability to focus, to remember, and to

think exibly (in other words, their executive

function skills) (Colliver et al., 2022; White

et al., 2021). In some instances, like learning

set procedures, children benet from direct

instruction (Klahr & Nigam, 2004, but see

Dean & Kuhn, 2007), but guided play is the

sweet spot for achieving a learning goal (Al-

eri et al., 2011; Skene et al., 2022; Weisberg

et al., 2016). A recent meta-analysis showed

that guided play pedagogies often did better

than direct instruction (Skene et al., 2022). At

worst, the approach was equal to the out-

comes produced by direct instruction. The

bottom line is that for most, if not all, skills,

guided play is the best way to support early

learning.

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What does this look like in practice?

Imagine a parent who wants to teach their

child about shapes (all examples adapted

from Hassinger-Das et al., 2017, p. 193). The

manner in which the parent can encourage

their child to learn about shapes would be dif-

ferent depending on whether they take a free

play, guided play, games or direct instruction

approach.

Imagine a mother gives her daughter blocks

of dierent shapes and sizes, and the child

chooses to build a castle with the blocks: that

is free play. Now imagine the mother gives

her child dierent shapes and says that she

received a message from the child’s ‘Queen’

toy that they must nd out secret to what

makes a ‘real’ triangle. The mother supports

her daughter as she manipulates the materi-

als to make triangles and non-triangles. The

mother asks questions to guide a discussion

about what makes a triangle ‘real’ before they

report back to the ‘Queen.’ That is guided

play. If the mother supports her daughter to

play a game with a goal to identify all the tri-

angles and t them together to make a cas-

tle, this experience falls under games. What

if the mother shows her daughter pictures of

dierent shapes, points out the triangles, and

then shows her a video about triangles? That

is direct instruction and does not fall under

the umbrella of playful learning. Research

suggests that if the mother teaches her

daughter about shapes via the guided play

scenario, her daughter would likely be more

engaged, show more exploratory behaviours

and develop better shape knowledge than

if her mother used the free play or direct in-

struction approach (Fisher et al., 2013).

Free play

During free play, children have complete

choice and control. They set their own goals

and follow their own interests. Imagine a child

playing dress-up with their dolls. Or a group

of children going on an ‘adventure’ to nd

treasure in the park. Or a child building a fort

with materials they nd around the house.

These are all examples of free play because

the child has free rein over what they do.

The children in these examples develop

social-emotional and learning-to-learn skills

as they play freely (Colliver et al., 2022; White

et al., 2021). During free play, a parent steps

back and lets their child fully take the lead.

The parent may observe their child, but they

give their child space and time needed to

have complete agency over their play and

step in to support them only when necessary.

Guided play

Parents support children to achieve learning

goals within the context of play during what is

called guided play. Within guided play, a child

maintains autonomy within a well-curated

environment and/or with adult scaolding

(Weisberg et al., 2016). Parents can inten-

tionally set up the environment or activities

for the child to explore or can be the ‘guide

on the side’ who gently reinforces and asks

questions to move the learning along. A

father saying to his son, “I wonder if we can

build a tall, strong tower with these blocks of

dierent sizes,” encourages guided play. The

father follows his son’s lead as his son tries

to build the tower, prompting his thinking

by saying things like, “Hmmm, I notice our

tower keeps falling when we put the small

blue block on the bottom…” and “Why is our

tower staying steady when the big red block

is on the bottom, but not when the small

blue block is on the bottom?” to support him

along the way. Accumulated research sug-

gests that guided play can lead to gains in

literacy, math, and social skills (Fisher et al.,

2013; Han et al., 2010; Nicolopoulou et al.,

2015; Toub et al., 2018; Skene et al., 2022)

and develops complex problem-solving be-

haviours in children (Hollenstein et al., 2022).

Parent roles across the play spectrum

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Direct instruction

Child agency is largely absent during direct

instruction. Therefore, it does not fall under

the umbrella of playful learning. We recog-

nize that play is not the only way for parents

to support children’s learning. Parents can

think about the complexity of the task at

hand to distinguish when they should directly

instruct their child from when they should

support their child’s playful learning. For

example, take learning how to tie your shoe-

laces. Children can experiment for months by

themselves and may not ever derive a good

plan for learning to tie their shoelaces with-

out direct instruction. When using the direct

instruction approach to learning, parents can

teach through modeling and concrete exam-

ples to help make it more meaningful for their

child (Lee & Anderson, 2013).

Games

Games oer an interesting case of guided

play because to a great extent a game di-

rects the activity of the participants. Rules,

structure, and level of child choice built into

the game become the ‘rules’ the players live

by. The game itself determines the child’s

goal and naturally scaolds the child’s ac-

tions (Hassinger-Das et al., 2017). Games

include physical games like tag, board games

and card games, as well as digital games.

High-quality games have been found to

contribute to gains in literacy, numeracy, and

social skills (Cavanaugh et al., 2017; Gibb et

al., 2021; Ramani & Siegler, 2008; Scalise,

Daubert & Ramani, 2018). On the other hand,

there are excellent games that have no learn-

ing goal and so-called ‘educational’ games

that are not optimal for learning, as is the

case with many digital apps (Hassinger-Das

et al., 2021; Meyer et al., 2021). Parents sup-

port their children by helping their child se-

lect a high-quality game, setting up the game

for them, playing games alongside them and

scaolding along the way, or by reinforcing

the roles of the players as the children learn

to execute the rules of the game.

More than one way to play

As illustrated by the play spectrum, there is

more than one way for parents to support

their children’s playful learning. Parents oer

dierent levels of support according to which

type of playful learning approach is taken.

Parents can consider the purpose of the

activity and whether the activity has a learn-

ing goal when deciding just how to approach

a given activity. Child agency is the common

thread throughout all types of playful learn-

ing. To encourage agency, parents can pro-

vide the time and space necessary for their

child to play freely, curate the environment to

encourage rich playful learning experiences,

or scaold their child’s exploration through

intentional questioning and prompting while

they play (Jensen et al., 2019; Weisberg,

Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2013, 2016; Zosh et al.,

2017, 2018).

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The ve characteristics of

learning through play

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Playful learning is a relatively new eld that

embodies all the fundamental characteris-

tics of learning experiences that best suit

what we know about how brains learn. To

stimulate learning, the experience should

be actively engaging; that is, it requires

the learner to not only be hands-on but

also ‘minds-on’ (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015,

p. 8). It should be meaningful for children

by giving them opportunities to make con-

nections between new and prior knowledge

and contribute to something that matters

to them. Learning can take place when the

child is alone, but research tells us that when

learning is socially interactive children build

deeper understanding of content and strong-

er relationships. When experiences involve

iterative processes – testing and trying out

dierent hypotheses to get closer to solving

a problem – it also leads to deeper learning

for children. Children are more motivated to

learn when experiences are fun, so learning

experiences should also be joyful.

These characteristics – actively engaging,

meaningful, socially interactive, iterative,

and joyful – are reinforced in numerous arti-

cles throughout the literature on the science

of learning. Taken in tandem, they overlap

almost entirely with denitions of play. These

characteristics promote deep, transferable

learning that is retained over time and build

the 21st- century skills children need to

thrive (Golinko & Hirsh-Pasek, 2016; Hirsh-

Pasek & Golinko, 2022; Hirsh-Pasek et al.,

2020).

Joyful Dull

Actively engaging Passive / Distracting

Iterative Repetitive

Meaningful Disconnected

Socially interactive Solitary

Figure 2. The ve characteristics of learning through play

Fifteen approaches to

bring the characteristics

to life

What if we could promote these ve

characteristics in everyday parent–child

interactions? Consolidating the research

ndings, we nd 15 approaches that can be

nested into normal routines to foster the ve

characteristics in spaces and activities that

make up an average day in the life of families

(see Figure 3). Our menu of approaches is not

another ‘how-to’ or ‘manual’ to be heaped

atop the modern parents-can-do-better

oerings. The 15 approaches are not meant

to be studied and applied in every parent–

child interaction. Rather, the approaches are

tools for parents to consider in whatever

way makes sense for them. The collection

of approaches brings the science of learning

and development to life for parents in a

manageable and meaningful way.

routines and moulded to be made meaning-

ful across contexts. Parents can embed the

approaches in whatever they do to stimulate

joy and learning.

We appreciate that there is much more to

learn about the variation in how parents and

children across cultures and contexts engage

in playful learning together. In the next phase

of this project, we will focus our investigation

on the nuances of how playful learning comes

to life for parents and children across diverse

cultures and contexts (see Future research

directions section).

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A note about contextual and cultural

variation

Parenting approaches, as well as conceptu-

alizations of and opportunities for play and

learning, are deeply personal and depend-

ent on a family’s unique context and culture

(Gaskins, 2015; Harkness et al., 2020; Rogo,

1990; Roopnarine, 2012). Some parents may

not have the discretionary time to play with

their child and others may not nd it appro-

priate to play with their child. We designed

the 15 approaches to be broad and exible

so they may be incorporated into a variety of

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9. Share activities

that promote social

interaction

8. Engage in two-way

conversation

7. Be a collaborative

partner

2. Help them get

to the next step

3. Create a supportive

environment

1. Support their

autonomy

13. Share positive

emotions

14. Find the fun

15. Share interests

and leisure activities

12. Praise the

process

11. Encourage

persistence

10. Embrace

ambiguity and

uncertainty

4. Build on their

interests

6. Build on existing

knowledge

5. Let them join

in daily tasks

How parents support

their child’s

playful learning

APPROACHES

CHARACTERISTICS

Figure 3. How parents support learning through play

This paper presents each approach as

connected to one of the ve characteristics

of learning through play according to what

research suggests is the most signicant

connection. This structure helps us organize

the white paper. However, it is important to

note that, just like the ve characteristics

are mutually supportive of learning through

play, most approaches may support multiple,

if not all, of the characteristics of learning

through play.

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Actively engaging

During an actively engaging experience, chil-

dren are both hands-on and ‘minds-on,’ im-

mersed and involved in the learning process

themselves, rather than acting as recepta-

cles for information (Chi, 2009; Hirsh-Pasek

et al., 2015, p.8; Yannier et al., 2021). Actively

engaging learning encourages more explor-

atory behaviours and engagement (Bonaw-

itz et al., 2011), builds more spatial (Frick

& Wang, 2014), math (Ferrara et al., 2011;

Children show more active engagement

when parents support their autonomy

(Callanan et al., 2017; Grith & Arnold, 2019;

Grith & Grolnick, 2014; Wei et al., 2019).

Parents can support their child’s autonomy

by giving their child choice in what they do,

allowing consistent opportunities to partic

ipate in household or community activities

and decisions, and giving their child the space

and time necessary to discover things on

their own rather than being told exactly how

to do it. Autonomy-supportive parenting

predicts a wide range of positive short- and

long-term child outcomes (see Joussemet et

al., 2005 and Vasquez et al., 2016, for a re

view), including intrinsic motivation (wanting

to do things for oneself; Bronstein, Ginsburg,

& Herrera, 2005; Deci & Ryan, 2008; Gonzalez

& Wolters, 2006), self-regulation (the ability

to control impulses; Meuwissen & Carlson,

2019) and executive function skills (the

‘learning-to-learn’

skills that are the founda-

tion for success; Bernier, Carlson & Whipple,

2010; Distefano et al., 2018). Parental pro-

vision of choice, in particular, is connected

to a child’s stronger executive function skills

(Castelo et al., 2022). Parents themselves

also benet from autonomy-supportive par-

enting. A study of nearly a thousand parents

found that autonomy-supportive parenting

(as dened by the study as giving children

choice within certain limits) was positive-

ly associated with less parental stress and

more parental vitality during the COVID-19

pandemic (Neubauer et al., 2021).

Tip: Follow your child’s pace when they

are engaged in a task. If they get stuck, ask

open-ended questions (for example, ask ‘What

else could you try?’) to encourage them to nd

solutions themselves, rather than showing

them what to do.

1. Support their autonomy

Imagine a child who is building a ramp to

make his toy car go faster. His father sits

nearby, folding laundry. When the child strug-

gles and calls to his dad for help, his dad asks

him questions to elicit his thinking (eg., ‘What

have you tried so far? Did that work? Why

not?’). After a short back-and-forth discus-

sion, the boy returns to work on his ramp

independently. Now imagine if the boy’s fa-

ther stepped in before his son asked for help

and instructed him to put more blocks on

his ramp tower to increase the ramp’s slope.

In the rst scenario, the father supports his

son’s autonomy by letting his son maintain

control over the activity (even when the son

asks for help) while, in the second scenario,

he takes the son’s autonomy away by con-

trolling the experience.

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Fisher et al., 2013), and literacy competen-

cies (Han et al., 2010; Zosh et al., 2013) and

activates related parts of the brain (Kersey

& James, 2013) more than passive learning

does. Parents promote actively engaging

learning experiences for their children by

supporting their child’s autonomy, helping

their child get to the next step, and creating

a supportive environment.

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2. Help them get to the next step

While parents support their child’s autonomy,

they can also take note of when their child

needs a little more help to get to the next

step. Scaolding, or building the structure

that enables children to move forward, is a

fundamental way adults support children’s

learning (Vygotsky, 1978; see Mermelshtine,

2017 for a review) without taking over. Scaf-

folding is best when children are given inten-

tional constraints that guide their eorts.

Like bowling with bumpers, a well-scaolded

activity allows children to exercise agency

within a structured setting that both consid-

ers what they can already do and supports

them to get to the next level. Parents scaold

when they control parts of the task that are

beyond what their child can do, which allows

their child to focus on – and succeed in – what

they are capable of independently (Wood,

Bruner & Ross, 1976). They break down the

task into manageable steps by noticing their

child’s limits and providing the stepping-

stones needed to reach the desired goal.

Parents gradually reduce and withdraw sup-

port, yielding to the child’s initiative and skill

(Carr & Pike, 2012; Wood & Middleton, 1975),

and ‘lter and focus’ the evidence that their

children encounter while they explore (Crow-

ley et al., 2001, p. 729). Children of parents

who show appropriate scaolding behaviours

during a task tend to have higher cognitive

abilities (Mulvaney et al., 2006), better ef-

fortful control (Neale & Whitebread, 2019),

better reasoning skills (Stright, Herr & Neit-

zel, 2009), executive functioning (Hammond

et al., 2012), and self-monitoring behaviours

(Neitzel & Stright, 2003).

Tip: Support your children by asking them

questions that have more than one answer

(for example, ‘What happened when you tried

___?’), thinking aloud (for example, ‘Hmm,

well we already know __, so we could try ___.’)

or drawing their attention to certain features

of the task at hand (for example, ‘Notice ___.

How does that compare to ___?’). This type of

support can also be accomplished through the

environment, by presenting the child with pro-

gressively more dicult tasks once they have

mastered the easier one.

3. Create a supportive environment

Parents help children succeed by creating an

environment that minimizes distractions and

inspires active engagement. The environ-

ment is a child’s ‘third teacher’ (Strong-Wil-

son & Ellis, 2007). Positive outcomes from

the Montessori approach, which includes

an organized and predictable ‘prepared

environment’, speak to the power of the

environment to stimulate learning (Lillard,

2013). Analogously, chefs prepare a mise en

place – prep the ingredients and tools before

they start cooking – to guide the creation of

a dish. Parents intentionally prepare a child’s

learning environment and provision the ma-

terials available to guide their child towards a

learning goal (Weisberg et al., 2014). Curat-

ed environments of this sort exist in school

classrooms (e.g., Higgins et al., 2005; Lillard,

2021), children’s museums (e.g., Sobel &

Jipson, 2016) and in built-in environments in

cities (e.g., Bustamante et al., 2020; Hassing-

er-Das et al., 2021).

The quantity and quality of materials a child

has access to is a large part of how a physical

environment can promote active engage-

ment and learning (Raikes et al., 2006; Rodri-

guez & Tamis-LeMonda, 2011; Rodriguez et

al., 2009; Tomopulous et. al, 2006). Access

to toys has been associated with positive

outcomes and is often used as a measure for

what makes a ‘stimulating’ home environ-

ment (e.g., Bradley, Caldwell & Rock, 1988;

Dreyer, Mendelsohn & Tamis-LeMonda,

1996). A supportive environment, however, is

more about the kinds of toys, programmes or

apps that are available than the sheer num-

ber of choices. Open-ended toys that allow

for many dierent uses and manipulations

(such as blocks) inspire active engagement

and rich adult language (Verdine et al., 2014).

Similarly, apps are engaging for children when

they provide immediate feedback based

on the child’s actions, are open-ended, and

have minimal distractions (such as sound

eects, and animations that take a child

o-task) (Hassinger-Das et al., 2020; Hirsh-

Pasek et al., 2015; Meyer et al., 2021). In the

case of electronic toys and books, features

like sounds and lights may distract children

from being fully and meaningfully engaged

(Parish-Morris et al., 2013; Zosh et al., 2015).

Other environmental factors, such as having

a TV on in the background (Courage et al.,

2010; Schmidt et al., 2008) or a parent who

is distracted by their cell phone throughout

the day (Gaudreau, Hirsh-Pasek & Golinko,

2021; Reed, Hirsh-Pasek & Golinko, 2017),

also tend to constrain children’s engagement

and learning.

Tip: Just like chefs prep their food before

cooking, prep your child’s room or space

before they start playing. Prioritize quality

over quantity when thinking about what toys

and materials to provide. Access to toys and

materials that are open-ended (meaning your

child can use them in dierent ways), matters

more than the number of toys they have access

to. Also, keep in mind that having background

music or the TV on may also distract your child

from learning.

Deeper, more enduring learning happens

when experiences and activities are mean-

ingful for the child. That kind of learning

allows information to be transferred to new

situations and to ‘stick’ over time (Zosh et

al., 2018). Meaningful learning can happen

when content is made relevant to the child’s

life (Boaler, 2002; Dintersmith, 2018; Lee,

2007; Love, 2015), and when learning serves

a purpose greater than just information

recall (Istomina, 1977; Mistry, Rogo & Her-

man, 2001). In recent years, there has been

a movement to promote ‘deeper learning’ in

Meaningful

4. Build on their interests

When parents build on and expand their

child’s interests, they create meaningful

opportunities for their child to explore exist-

ing interests in a new way and deepen related

learning (Ito et al., 2013; Takeuchi, Vaala &

Ahn, 2019). Parents can build on and expand

their child’s interests by facilitating experien-

tial learning related to their child’s interests,

providing relevant materials, and by encour-

aging related projects and activities (Barron,

2006; Crowley & Jacobs, 2002; Dunst, 2020;

Takeuchi, Vaala & Ahn, 2019). Time for explo-

ration, particularly through leisure activities,

is key for interest development (Hofer, 2010).

Thus, parents can take care to avoid overem-

phasizing structured and/or competitive ac-

tivities related to their child’s interests, at the

risk of limiting self-directed and open-ended

learning (Ito et al., 2013).

The experience of interest-based learning

has both short- and long-term benets for

children (Hidi & Renninger, 2020; Renninger &

Hidi, 2017). In the short term, children have

better attention, are more engaged, show

more positive aect, and are better able to

consolidate information during meaningful

interest-based learning experiences than

those that are not connected to their inter-

ests (Renninger & Hidi, 2017). The accumula-

tion of multiple and repetitive interest-based

learning experiences has the potential to

inspire a child’s future education and career

path in the long term (Darling-Hammond et

al., 2020).

Tip: Support your child’s interest development

by providing relevant materials, encouraging

related projects and taking them to virtual or

in-person events connected to their interests.

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schools. Deeper learning, as dened by this

movement, is meaningful because it is em-

bedded in real-world situations or problems,

making the experiences both authentic and

interdisciplinary (Darling-Hammond et al.,

2020; Mehta & Fine, 2019). Parents can pro-

mote deep, meaningful learning for their child

by building on their child’s interests, let-

ting their child join them in daily tasks, and

building on their child’s existing knowledge.

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5. Let them join in daily tasks

Everyday experiences like sorting laundry,

preparing dinner, and getting ready for school

all provide rich opportunities for meaningful

learning (Alcalá et al., 2014; Rogo, 2003;

Vandermaas-Peeler et al., 2018). Parents can

allow children join them in daily tasks and

highlight relevant knowledge and skills along

the way. Children across cultures are moti-

vated to learn knowledge and skills relevant

to their family and community (Gaskins &

Paradise, 2010; Rogo, 1990, 2003). In the

words of psychologist and philosopher Alison

Gopnik, parents do not have to ‘do special

things’ to teach their children relevant skills

(2016, p. 112). Rather, they can ‘slow down

and exaggerate their own actions’ and make

it ‘easy for their children to join in’ (p. 111).

Studies nd that incorporation of learning

into day-to-day tasks can make a dierence

to how children perform academically (Colliv-

er, Arguel & Parrila, 2021; LeFevre et al., 2009;

Vandermaas-Peeler et al., 2018). For exam-

ple, LeFevre and colleagues (2009) found a

robust relation between how often children

participated in informal activities with quan-

titative components (such as cooking and

shopping) and their mathematical procien-

cy. Beyond academic performance, when

children are purposefully involved in everyday

family and community tasks, they build their

funds of knowledge; the skills and knowledge

that are particularly meaningful to their

household and their culture (González, Moll &

Amanti, 2006).

Tip: Involve your child in routines like cooking,

cleaning, shopping, sorting mail and taking

out the rubbish. Slow down and narrate your

actions and invite your child to help you in a way

that meets their ability, gives choice and builds

a sense of purpose.

Imagine a father and his four-year-old daugh-

ter baking cookies from their family recipe.

There is much meaningful learning to happen

for his daughter in this seemingly normal

task! The father helps his daughter develop

concepts of print when he demonstrates how

he reads the recipe from right to left to nd

out what ingredients they need. He sup-

ports her autonomy and condence when he

invites her to try dierent styles of chocolate

chips and choose which ones she would like

to use. Then, he supports her understanding

of one-to-one correspondence when they

count as they put cups of chocolate chips

one-by-one into the mixing bowl. She devel-

ops her executive function skills as she learns

how to follow the steps of a complex se-

quence and control her urge to put ‘just one

more’ scoop of chocolate chips in the bowl!

Throughout the experience, she is learning

how she can contribute to a special family

tradition.

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6. Build on existing knowledge

Parents, experts in their child’s previous

experiences, can help children make meaning

by building on existing knowledge. They do

this by noting how a new experience relates

to something that the child or family has

already encountered (Zimmerman & McClain,

2014), by asking prompting questions to get

their child to make these connections them-

selves (Callanan et al., 2017), and by using

comparisons between what a child already

understands and new information (Valle &

Callanan, 2006). Analogies are a powerful

vehicle for learning, particularly for learn-

ing abstract concepts (Gentner et al., 2015;

Gentner, Loewenstein & Thompson, 2003;

Jee et al., 2010). In fact, 7-to-12-year-old

children were able to learn about evolution by

natural selection - a complex topic often not

taught until high school - after they engaged

in an analogy-based tutorial session (Shtul-

man, Neal & Lindquist, 2016). When parents

make analogies and help their child see rel-

evant connections, their child tends to show

more engagement, understanding, and re-

tention of new knowledge than when parents

simply explain something to them without

any connections (Callanan et al., 2017; Jant

et al., 2014).

Tip: Help your child make connections between

what they already know and something new by

asking your child questions to guide them to

make these connections for themselves ( for

example, “What does this remind you of?”), by

modelling making these connections yourself

(for example, “This reminds me of when we…”,

and by using comparisons between what they

already understand and new information (for

example, “This is a lot like ___ because___.”).

A mother and her daughter visit a pond to

skip rocks. One day, the daughter picks up

a rock and throws it into the pond. To her

surprise, the rock bounces o the pond – it

had frozen overnight! Her mother helps her

make sense of this by connecting the ice on

the pond to how they freeze water to make

ice cubes at home. This connection helps her

daughter understand how freezing temper-

atures can change the properties of water to

turn it into ice.

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Socially interactive

Humans have a socially gated brain such

that we best process all information we

learn through social interaction (Kuhl, 2007;

Meltzo & Kuhl, 2016). It is interaction with

a more advanced peer or adult that enables

children to operate in what Vygotsky (1978)

called the zone of proximal development,

in which they can move from needing adult

scaolding to operating at a new level of

thinking on their own. Learning alongside

others is key to the development of essential

21st-century skills like collaboration, com-

munication and critical thinking, and the

7. Be a collaborative partner

Parents can be their child’s collaborative

partner in playful learning at all ages. This

back-and-forth social engagement be-

gins as early as infancy. The well-timed and

emotionally matched exchanges between

parents and babies create a foundation for

later learning (Masek et al., 2021; Piazza et

al., 2020). As children get older, parents and

children collaborate during playful learning

when they work together to set goals and

contribute equally to nding a solution (Sobel

et al., 2021). To act as a collaborative partner

while still scaolding towards a learning goal

for their child, parents pose thought-provok-

ing questions, note that children are missing

information, and make gentle suggestions

(Callanan et al., 2020; Medina & Sobel, 2020).

Several studies nd that children with par-

ents who were more collaborative during

tasks (like playing with electric circuits and

gears) at museums were more engaged in

the task and explored more systematically

than children whose parents took a directive

approach (Callanan et al., 2020; Medina & So-

bel, 2020; Sobel et al., 2021). When parents

collaborate with their child, they model how

to be curious and creative explorers (Callanan

et al., 2020).

Tip: To promote learning without giving the

answer, use prompting phrases and questions

that start with ‘I wonder…’, ‘What if…?’, ‘What

do you think about…?’, ‘When ___ happened, it

made me think about__.’

Note: The 15 approaches relate to how parents can support the ve characteristics of learning through play in their own interactions

with their child, so they do not address how parents can nurture social interaction between their child and other children. But being

a playful parent doesn’t mean you always have to be the one engaging with your child. Children need social interaction with other

children outside of school, and the frequency of playdates is associated with higher levels of social competence in preschool children

(Ladd & Hart, 1992). You can also foster learning through play by creating space and opportunities for your child to interact and play

with other children.

support of a social partner helps build a

stronger understanding of content (Chi,

2009; Golinko & Hirsh-Pasek, 2016; Hirsh-

Pasek et al., 2020, 2022). Parents are a child’s

rst, and often most important, social part-

ner. Thus, parents have a signicant op-

portunity to empower their child’s learning

through play as their collaborative partner

and by engaging in two-way conversations

with their child. Parents can share activities

with their child as vehicles for positive social

interactions and playful learning.

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8. Engage in two-way conversation

A strong research base supports the signif-

icance of socially contingent parent–child

conversation; specically back-and-forth, or

two-way, conversation (Hirsh-Pasek, Alper

& Golinko, 2018; Suskind, 2015). Put simply,

talking with rather than talking at children is

critical to how much children learn from an

experience (Roseberry, Hirsh-Pasek & Go-

linko, 2014). David Dickinson, a research

professor from Vanderbilt University, sug-

gests that parents should ‘strive for ve’

conversational turns to keep the interaction

going. The key to reaching that goal is using

open-ended questions – those questions

that spark conversation rather than asking

for the one right answer. These types of

questions inuence how much a child learns

and remembers from an experience (Hedrick

et al., 2009; Yu, Bonawitz & Shafto, 2019)

and have been linked to positive vocabulary

outcomes (Blewitt et al., 2009) and STEM

learning (Haden et al., 2014). Notably, it is

not the frequency of questions that makes

the dierence, but rather how contingent

the questions are to the child’s own talk or

exploration. This means that parents can

pose questions to elaborate on their child’s

thinking, encourage their child to generate

explanations, call attention to relevant as-

pects of the experience, and stimulate more

back-and-forth conversation, rather than to

test their child’s knowledge (Benjamin, Ha-

den & Wilkerson, 2010; Callanan et al., 2020,

2017; Eason et al., 2021; Hedrick et al., 2009;

Jant et al., 2014; Vandermaas-Peeler, Massey

& Kendall, 2016; Willard et al., 2019).

Tip: Take conversational turns with your child.

Ask your child questions that spark meaning-

ful back-and-forth conversation, rather than

simple yes-or-no questions.

Imagine a mother and daughter walking

to the supermarket through the park. The

daughter has recently been learning about

shadows at school. As they walk, the mother

models curiosity as she moves her body in

dierent ways to experiment with her shad-

ow. She asks her daughter what she notices.

Then, rather than point out other shadows

to her daughter, she says, ‘We can see both

of our shadows today! Hmm… I wonder what

else has a shadow,’ and they engage in a rich

two-way discussion as they ‘hunt’ for oth-

er shadows, and compare them (eg., ‘Why

is that tree’s shadow bigger than the other

tree’s shadow?’), along their walk. The follow-

ing week they walk through the park again,

but on a cloudy day. The mother acts sur-

prised and asks her daughter, ‘Where did our

shadows go?’ These open-ended questions

are the springboard for engaging two-way

conversation.

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9. Share activities that promote social interaction

There are plenty of activities that can be

done solo. Yet, parents can engage in a

plethora of activities that promote posi-

tive interaction and learning with their child.

Games (see Hassinger-Das et al., 2017 for

a review; Bjorklund, Hubertz & Reubens,

2004; Huang, Sun & Tang, 2021; Ramani et

al., 2015;), puzzles (Clegg et al., 2021), and

blocks (Christakis, Zimmerman, & Garrison,

2007; Ferrara et al., 2011) help facilitate

meaningful dialogue while also providing the

context for parents to support their child’s

learning (Verdine et al., 2014).

In contrast, some electronic games and toys

impede meaningful parent–child interaction.

Certain features of electronic toys and books,

such as noises, lights and extraneous activi-

ties, tend to hinder parent–child talk and in-

teraction (Miller et al., 2017; Parish-Morris et

al., 2013). Parents tend to use richer language

and show more scaolding behaviours when

they engage in traditional games and toys,

rather than electronic ones, with their child

(Schnieders & Schuh, 2022; Sosa, 2016; Zosh

et al., 2015). This does not mean that parents

must avoid electronic toys and games alto-

gether. Rather, parents should be aware that

there is a risk of letting the electronics ‘do

the talking for them,’ as electronic toys and

games do not inspire back-and-forth talk as

naturally as traditional toys and games (Sosa,

2016, p. 136).

Tip: Traditional toys, like blocks, tend to inspire

more meaningful back-and-forth talk between

parents and their child than electronic toys do.

This certainly does not mean you should avoid

electronic toys altogether! Just take care not

to let talking toys reduce chances for positive

interaction between you and your child. Inter-

action with a responsive electronic toy is not a

substitute for positive interaction with a re-

sponsive human.

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Iterative

Iteration reects the idea that learning itself

is a scientic process. Children are natural

scientists (e.g., Gopnik, Meltzo, & Kuhl,

2001; Gopnik & Wellman, 2012; Piaget, 1945),

and ‘young brains are designed to explore’

(Gopnik, 2016, p.35). With iteration, children

build on their learning with each new engage-

ment in the activity, which distinguishes it

from repetition (Zosh et al., 2017). Iteration

is more like playing jazz than playing a pre-

scribed and well-rehearsed piano piece. Jazz

is about taking a theme and ring on it to ex-

plore and expand the possible patterns that

can emerge. Just like jazz, learning occurs

10. Embrace ambiguity and uncertainty

Parents can embrace ambiguity and uncer-

tainty while their children engage in a task

by staying open to dierent solutions, rather

than focusing on the ‘right answer.’ Children

need uncertainty, a gap in understanding,

to drive their curiosity and exploration (Jir-

out & Klahr, 2012). Children are more likely

to systematically explore and try dierent

solutions if they don’t have all the evidence

or are presented with ambiguous evidence

(Bonawitz et al., 2012; Cook, Goodman &

Schulz, 2011; Gweon & Schulz, 2008; Legare,

Gelman & Wellman, 2010; Schulz & Bonawitz,

2007; Stahl & Feigenson, 2015). Bonawitz

and colleagues (2011) found that when an

adult provided a demonstration of ‘how a toy

worked’ before children had a chance to ex-

plore it themselves, the children explored the

toy less and discovered fewer toy functions

than when the adult gave children the chance

to explore it themselves rst.

Parents can model exploration and ques-

tion-asking as positive responses to uncer-

tainty (Evans, Todaro et al., 2022) and mis-

takes. The importance of the opportunity to

make, and learn from, mistakes is supported

by a large research base (Denervaud et al.,

2020; Kapur, 2008; see Metcalfe, 2017 for a

review) and exploratory behaviours are tied

to creativity (Evans et al., 2021). So, parents

can rest assured that it is okay (and even

benecial!) if their child does not get it right

the rst time.

Tip: Be patient when your child makes mis-

takes. Encourage them to continue testing and

trying out their ideas and model question-ask-

ing and reection as appropriate responses to

uncertainty.

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through the process of experimenting with

dierent possibilities, testing hypotheses,

and asking, discovering, and exploring ques-

tions that arise to get closer to a solution.

When children engage in these processes,

they build their creativity, critical thinking,

and problem-solving behaviours (Golinko &

Hirsh-Pasek, 2016; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2020;

Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2022). Parents can support

their child’s iteration by embracing ambigui-

ty and uncertainty, encouraging persistence

and focusing on the process over the prod-

uct.

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11. Encourage persistence

Inherent in the iterative process is persis-

tence – in the face of ambiguity and failed

attempts, one must persist and try, try

again! To persist, children need grit – what

psychologist Angela Duckworth denes as

having passion, perseverance, and stami-

na (Duckworth et al., 2007, 2019). Parents

nurture grit when they help their child to

see what they can do during a task and leave

room for their child to improve. Children are

more persistent when they are autonomous

or gently guided in their attempts than when

an adult takes over for them (Leonard et al.,

2021). Self-explanation, rather than expla-

nation from an adult, also inspires a child’s

persistence (Callanan et al., 2020), so parents

can rst ask their child to reect on their at-

tempts, rather than tell them why something

is or is not working. Parents can acknowledge

the diculty of the task but reassure their

child that they can improve with practice

(eg., ‘This might be hard now, but it will get

easier with practice’; Autin & Croizet, 2012;

Haimovitz & Dweck, 2016; Leonard, Garcia &

Schulz, 2020).

Tip: When your child is struggling with a task,

avoid giving them the solution right away.

Rather, reassure them that new things are hard

at rst, but they get easier with practice. Sup-

port them by encouraging them to think about

why what they’ve tried so far hasn’t worked and

to keep trying dierent solutions using what

they know.

12. Praise the process

To persist and continue iterating in the face

of failure, a child must see failed attempts

as something to improve upon, rather than

representative of their abilities (Haimovitz

& Dweck, 2016). Parents can support their

children to have this growth mindset by

using process praise. Extensive research

done by Dweck and her colleagues (Dweck,

1998, 2006; Gunderson et al., 2013; Mueller &

Dweck, 1998) nds that when an adult praises

a child’s intelligence, rather than their eort,

the child tends to avoid future risk-taking to

save face. When children are praised for their

hard work (e.g., ‘I notice that you are trying

out dierent things!’) their growth mindset is

cultivated, and they tend to be more engaged

and self-motivated during challenging tasks

(Gunderson et al., 2013). This is even true for

the youngest learners. Lucca, Horton and

Sommerville (2019) note that 18-month-olds

who had parents who used process praise

(praising eort or thinking; eg., ‘I noticed that

you tried to put that piece on top of this one.

That was a great try!’) over person praise

(praise for a xed trait; eg., ‘You’re so smart!’)

and generic praise (praise that did not t in

the other categories; eg., ‘Yay!’, ‘Good!’) dur-

ing a gear stacking task were not only more

likely to persist during the task itself, but also

during a separate task where parents were

uninvolved.

Tip: Praise your child’s eort (for example, say,

‘I noticed that you tried to put that piece on top

of this one. That was a great try!’), rather than

compliment xed traits (such as saying, ‘You’re

so smart!’) or giving general positive feedback

(like, ‘Yay! Good job!’).

Imagine a child trying to build a sandcastle

at the beach. She gets frustrated when the

waves keep knocking her castle down. “This

is too hard!” she shouts to her father, sitting

nearby. Her father responds, “This is hard,

and I see you working hard and trying dif-

ferent things to gure out how to keep your

castle safe from the waves. Let’s talk through

what you’ve tried so far to help us gure this

out.” When the daughter successfully keeps

her castle safe from the waves by construct-

ing it further away from the shoreline and

building a moat, the father says, “Wow you

worked really hard to keep your castle safe

from the waves by moving away from the

shoreline and making a moat, even though

it was challenging,” rather than, “You are so

smart, I knew you could do it,” or “Good Job!”

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Joyful

Parents play an important role in bringing joy

into their child’s daily life. The power of joy

goes beyond that of a cherished emotion.

Neuroscientists nd that positive aect and

surprise are related to learning (Betzel et al.,

2017). In fact, research connects feelings of

joy to memory, attention, creativity, motiva-

tion, and executive function (Cools, Nakamu-

ra & Daw, 2011; Dang et al., 2012; Diamond,

2012). Promoting a sense of joy in the con-

text of a learning experience helps make the

learning goal ‘sticky,’ ensuring that children

build deep, enduring knowledge. So, what can

parents do to maximize joy in their child’s life?

They can share positive emotions, nd the

fun in problem-solving, and share interests

and leisure activities.

13. Share positive emotions

‘Emotions are contagious’ is an adage we

all know to be true. The research supports a

bi-directional relationship between parent

and child emotions, meaning that parents

and children can ‘catch’ each other’s emo-

tions (Bai, Repetti & Sperling, 2016; Kokkinaki

et al., 2017; Tronick, 1989). From infancy,

children observe and copy the emotions of

their parents*, who encourage and extend

the positive emotional responses of their

child (Morris et al., 2007). For joy in particu-

lar, Barry and Kochanska (2010) nd that the

expression of joy in a parent predicts the

expression of joy in their child and vice versa.

Experiences of shared positive emotions

between child and parent have ripple eects

on a child’s socioemotional development. In

fact, parent–child experience of joint positive

emotions is associated with less aggressive

behaviour in the child (Lunkenheimer et al.,

2020) and the child’s positive social func-

tioning (Eisenberg et al., 2003) years later.

Parents and children tend to have a lower

positive aect when parents are heavily

involved in their child’s learning (Schmidt et

al., 2021) and homework (Pomerantz, Wang

& Ng, 2005), suggesting that child autonomy

not only promotes the positive outcomes

noted in the rst approach, but also a family’s

positive emotional climate.

Tip: Don’t hold back expressing positive feel-

ings with your child – share smiles and laughs

whenever you can! And don’t forget to model

voicing feelings, so that children can learn to do

name emotions.

*We focus on one emotion – joy – in this report as joy is a characteristic of learning through play. However, this does not mean you

should hide more dicult emotions like frustration, sadness or fear from your children! Children need to learn that all emotions are

valid and need opportunities to watch parents model how to appropriately manage all emotions – including dicult ones (Eisenberg et

al., 1998; Morris et al., 2017). When parents help their child label emotions and cope with big feelings, their child builds strong social and

emotional skills and is more likely to show prosocial behaviour (Garner et al., 2008). The reality of life is that some days go by without

much joy. On those days you can discuss how you are feeling and explain how you will cope to your child. For example, ‘I am feeling sad

because I miss Grandma today and wish she was here. To help me feel better, I am going to look at some photographs of us together. Do

you want to look at the photos with me?’

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

14. Find the fun

When we say nd the fun, we mean that

parents can use humour, exibility and crea-

tivity as an approach to problem-solving and

learning. Parents provide their children with

emotional socialization through modeling,

so when parents respond to problems with

a playful and creative attitude, children can

learn positive coping techniques (Eisenberg,

Cumberland & Spinrad, 1998). Parents and

children tend to experience more thought-

ful back-and-forth conversations and more

overall positive behaviours when parents

have a playful attitude (Menashe-Grinberg

& Atzaba-Poria, 2017; Waldman-Levi, Fin-

zi-Dottan & Cope, 2020). A playful approach

to parenting is positively associated with

emotional regulation ability and adaptability

for both parents and children (Shen, Chick &

Pitas, 2017; Shorer et al., 2021).

Tip: Use humour, exibility and/or creativi-

ty when you and your children run into minor

challenges and frustrations. Did you and the

kids make a mess? Turn on a stopwatch and

see how quickly you can all clean up! Is the

playground closed today? Create an obstacle

course in the yard or living room with things

around the house! Forget to buy an ingredient

needed for dinner? Brainstorm what else may

be a good substitute to create a new recipe!

Imagine a child who is learning the getting-

ready-for-school routine. When he can’t

nd his folder and lunchbox to put in his bag,

he gets frustrated, plops down on the oor,

and tells his mother he doesn’t want to go

to school anymore. His mother joins him

on the oor and patiently says, “I know you

are frustrated. I feel frustrated when I can’t

nd things I need, too. Something I like to do

when this happens is to take a deep breath

and, when I feel ready, I turn nding what is

lost into a game. Do you want to try?” He

nods and they take a deep breath together.

Then, his mother whispers in a silly voice ex-

plaining that they are on a secret ‘Get Ready

for School’ mission, sets a timer for them,

and they zoom around the house to nd the

missing items. They shout, ‘Mission com-

plete!’ after they put all the school supplies in

the son’s bag. Here the mother models how

to use fun and exibility as an approach to

solving a problem.

15. Share interests and leisure activities

When parents and children share interests

and leisure activities, they also share the

positive emotions promoted by unstruc-

tured, low-stress, and enjoyable activities

(Bai et al., 2016). In infancy, a fun joint lei-

sure activity may take the form of a game of

peek-a-boo (Fernald & O’Neill, 1993; Parrott

& Gleitman, 1989). As children grow, par-

ents and children can share joy in a variety

of activities like music, dance, games, art,

and unstructured sport play (Bai et al., 2016;

Ginsburg, 2007). Activities like these not only

bring joy and pride, but they also challenge

and improve executive functions (Diamond,

2012). To quote developmental cognitive

neuroscientist Adele Diamond, ‘When we

love what we are doing, we have far more en-

ergy and can get far more done’ (2014, p. 9).

It makes sense, then, that sharing interests

and leisure activities with a parent is associ-

ated with indicators of child and adolescent

well-being (Coyl-Shepherd & Hanlon, 2013;

Oer, 2013), as well as parent and child satis-

faction with family life (Agate et al., 2009).

Tip: Share unstructured activities that pro-

mote joy for both you and your child. When

your child is a baby, this may look like a fun

game of peek-a-boo. As your child gets old-

er, you can share activities like music, dance,

games, art or unstructured sport play...really

anything you and your child enjoy!

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

How to support parents

to engage their children

in playful learning

How can we help parents embody these

messages to bring about playful learning

in daily life with their child? To answer this

question, we consider how parent-facing

programmes can frame the content shared

in this paper, honour the unique and culturally

varied context of families, and identify key

conduits for sharing playful learning research

and resources with parents.

Framing the content

What do parents already know and believe?

Parent beliefs shape parent behaviours

(Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997; Sigel,

1985; Sigel & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 2002;

Simpkins, Fredricks & Eccles, 2012). When

framing the content shared in this paper with

parents, start by considering parent beliefs

regarding their role in their child’s learning,

how play connects to learning, and whether

they believe they can be successful. These

beliefs are foundational to how parents will

be empowered to engage in playful learning

with their child.

1 Parents can believe they have an

important role in their child’s learning

and development. There is a strong

association between parent beliefs

about their role in their child’s learning

and their involvement in their child’s

learning (Hoover-Dempsey, Walker

& Sandler, 2005; List, Pernaudet &

Suskind, 2021; Weigel, Martin & Bennett,

2006).

2 Parents can appreciate the power of

play. Parent beliefs related to how play

connects to learning will determine how

they engage their children in play (Fisher

et al., 2008; Haight, Parke & Black, 1997;

Ihmeideh, 2019; LaForett & Mendez,

2017b; Lin & Li, 2018; Manz & Bracaliello,

2016; Parmar, Harkness & Super, 2004;

Roopnarine & Jin, 2012).

3 Parents can have self-ecacy. When

parents have self-ecacy, they believe

they have the skills and knowledge

needed to help their child, and that they

know where they can access informa-

tion and resources (Ardelt & Eccles,

2001; Bandura, 1997; Hoover-Dempsey

& Sandler, 1997).

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

What can inspire a shift in mindset?

Parents who hold these beliefs can be em-

powered to engage their child in playful

learning. We can support parents to develop

understanding and self-ecacy by providing

insight on the connection to science, elu-

cidating what we mean by playful learning,

drawing connections between playful learn-

ing and personally meaningfully outcomes,

and showing parents they can be successful.

1 Connect content to science. Parents

are more likely to trust parenting

information that is rooted in scientic

research and presented with authority

(Kinsner et al., 2018; List, Pernaudet &

Suskind, 2021; Wilton et al., 2017). List,

Pernaudet, and Suskind (2021) found

when parenting advice was connected

to the science of child development,

children demonstrated improved

vocabulary as well as a breadth of skills.

2 Make denitions clear. Play is

notoriously hard to dene (e.g., Bergen,

1988; Sutton-Smith, 1997) which leaves

us with widely varied parental views

of play (Fisher et al., 2008; LaForett

& Mendez, 2017b; Lin & Li, 2018). By

helping parents see the power of the

ve characteristics and their overlap

with the science of how children learn

(Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2020; Zosh et al.,

2017, 2018), play becomes more than

a four-letter word and playful learning

becomes a possibility.

3 Connect playful learning to parent and

child outcomes. All parents want to do

what is best for their child. Let’s oer

parents the evidence that illustrates

how playful learning promotes positive

outcomes across a breadth of skills.

a Child outcomes: Research nds

that playful learning fosters the

transferable skills – collaboration,

communication, content, critical

thinking, creative innovation, and

condence (termed the 6Cs by Go-

linko & Hirsh-Pasek, 2016) – that

researchers, educators, and em-

ployers say are crucial for success

in the 21st century (Golinko &

Hirsh-Pasek, 2016; Hirsh-Pasek et

al., 2020; Darling-Hammond et al.,

2020). To help inspire new ways of

thinking, parents can be present-

ed with evidence that normative

teaching and learning methods

(e.g., rote learning, direct instruc-

tion) are not always in alignment

with goals for their child (Meadows,

1999; Winthrop et al., 2021).

b Parent outcomes: During such a

stressful time for parents, it must

be clear to parents that playful

learning is not only benecial for

their child, but also for them. Play

naturally promotes positive par-

ent–child interaction and helps

build a strong parent–child bond

(Milteer et al., 2012). Parents

around the world report that play-

ing with their child makes them

feel more energized, creative and

relaxed, as well as closer to their

child (LEGO, 2018). It is no surprise

that parent–child play can lead to

reductions in parent stress (Cates

et al., 2016; Weisleder et al., 2019).

4 Show parents that they can be suc-

cessful. Parents need to see and feel

the ways in which playful learning can be

naturally integrated into their daily rou-

tines. Playful learning should not add re-

sponsibility for the parent. It requires no

manuals or books, just consciousness

as parents change the lens on everyday

behaviours. Parents can be supported

to identify and create conscious playful

learning interactions throughout their

day that help them feel successful.

Systemic barriers to playful learning

Even if parents have beliefs inspiring them

to support their child’s play, certain system-

ic and structural factors can be barriers to

parent engagement in learning through play.

When families struggle to make ends meet,

time for parents and children to play or even

be together is a precious commodity (Milteer

et al., 2012). Families around the world re-

port that they are ‘time poor’ and that work

and busy lifestyles are the top factors that

prevent them from playing with their child

(LEGO, 2018). Although beyond the scope

of this report, we recognize that to fully

empower all parents to engage their child in

learning through play would take wide-scale

comprehensive solutions to address struc-

tural inequities, including supportive family

policies, such as sucient paid family and

medical leave (Waldfogel et al., 2019), child

benets like cash transfers (Gennetian et

al., 2021), and adequate living wages (Hill &

Romich, 2018). Furthermore, neighbourhood

safety and the accessibility of playful com-

munity spaces can be challenge to outdoor

and physical play (Coyl-Shepherd & Hanlon,

2013; Faulkner et al., 2015; Milteer et al.,

2012). The reality is families face a variety

of challenges that may inuence how much

time and energy parents have to interact

with their child. This challenge presents

yet another reason why we must make the

research and related resources as accessible

as possible to all parents, including helping

parents see natural ways to integrate joy and

learning into their normal daily routines.

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

Honouring the context

Context and culture shapes how parents

parent. Parent beliefs and behaviours, as well

as their access to resources, are all shaped

by their unique context and culture (Belsky,

1984; Harkness et al., 2013; Rogo, 2003;

Whitebread & Basilo, 2013). It is crucial to

understand how context and culture shape

parent engagement in playful learning so

programmes can build on parents’ funds of

knowledge.

Parents are powerful partners. The nuances

of playful learning across contexts and cul-

ture must be well understood and honoured.

When parents are partners, not clients (Win-

throp et al., 2021), these nuances can be bet-

ter appreciated and diverse ways of knowing,

teaching and learning can be elevated.

1 Focus groups, interviews, interactive

media campaigns and surveys can

elucidate what playful learning means,

and how it manifests, for families in

varied cultural contexts. The science

will come to life for parents when it

is framed in such a way that they can

see themselves, and their children, in

the examples. The play spectrum, ve

characteristics and 15 research-backed

approaches presented in this paper

are the foundation for how parents can

engage their child in playful learning, but

real examples from parents should be

the building blocks.

2 A network of parent champions for

playful learning can be built. Parents

learn from other parents – whether it

be from a ‘mommy blog’, play group or

a casual chat with a friend. Thus, par-

ents are powerful messengers to other

parents (Day et al., 2012; O’Neil, Volm-

ert & Gerstein Pineau, 2019; see Abrien-

do Puertas/Opening Doors). ‘Word of

mouth parent advocacy’ is inuential

(Sanders & Mazzucchelli, 2022, p. 10).

Parent champions for playful learning

can be spokespeople who inspire a

movement for playful learning in their

communities. They can also be a bridge

to help programmes and initiatives con-

tinually strengthen their understanding

of how parents can be supported.

3 Projects can collaborate with parents

to embed playful learning in places and

spaces in their communities. Initia-

tives like Playful Learning Landscapes

Action Network (PLLAN) collaborate

with parents and community leaders to

transform everyday places in their com-

munities into enriching, social spaces

that promote playful learning. These

initiatives are examples of how to take

parent engagement in playful learning

to the next level. Parents who are ac-

tively engaged in the creation of playful

learning infrastructure in their commu-

nity learn about the principles of playful

learning while they make their worlds

more meaningful for their family. Par-

ents develop self-ecacy as they come

to understand that playful learning can

happen in the places they visit every day

like grocery stores (Ridge et al., 2015),

libraries (Hassinger-Das et al., 2020a),

and even at bus stops (Hassinger-Das et

al., 2020b).

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

A note about close ties and social networks

Parents turn to their social networks –

other parents, close friends and relatives

– for parenting advice (Kinsner et al.,

2018; McCatharn et al., 2021; Simons et

al., 2021; Takeuchi, Vaala & Ahn, 2019), so

it is important to consider how to share

this research widely, not just with parents.

In fact, among the top ve sources of

parenting information are immediate family

members, friends, and extended family

(Kinsner et al., 2018). Parents with less

education, in particular, are more likely to

be inuenced by closer ties (Winthrop et

al., 2021). Social psychologists nd that

interpersonal networks play a large role in

determining whether a person adopts a

particular innovation (Burn, 1991; Darley &

Beniger, 1981). Kinsner and colleagues (2018)

urge those involved in parent engagement

initiatives to message to extended family,

particularly grandparents, as this is where

many parents turn for parenting information.

Identifying key conduits

Parents get parenting advice and resourc-

es in a variety of ways. Whether it be from a

friend, a grandparent or an expert, through

a casual conversation or a web search, par-

ents turn to dierent people and places for

help with parenting. Parenting interventions

involving multiple entry points have a greater

chance of achieving a wider reach and great-

er uptake (Prinz & Sanders, 2007). A number

of conduits can be considered to promote

accessibility and the inclusion of all parents.

1 Involve everyday places and spaces.

Playful learning initiatives situated in

everyday places like libraries (Hassing-

er-Das et al., 2020a), laundromats

(Neuman, Portillo & Celano, 2020), su-

permarkets (Hanner et al., 2019; Ridge

et al., 2015), food pantries (Shivaram

et al., 2021), and bus stops (Hassing-

er-Das et al., 2020b) all see positive

parent–child engagement and results.

Resources and opportunities for playful

learning are more accessible and there

is greater potential to include all parents

when playful learning is embedded in the

places that parents and children already

visit (Schlesinger et al., 2020).

2 Partner with people in the community

who are trusted messengers. Trust is

a key component of successful parent

engagement initiatives (Mapp & Berg-

man, 2021; Winthrop et al., 2021). Par-

ents across demographics deeply trust

their health care providers (Kinsner et

al., 2018). Well-child visits to the pedia-

trician are routine and nearly universal,

so they oer a way to deliver parenting

support that is accessible and free from

stigma (Mendelsohn et al., 2005; Shah et

al., 2019). There are many examples of

successful parenting interventions us-

ing paediatricians and other health care

providers as conduits (Cates et al., 2016;

Johnston et al., 2004; Shah et al., 2019;

see Peacock-Chambers, Ivy & Bair-Mer-

ritt, 2017, for a review). Parents tend

to also look to their child’s teacher for

advice and support, particularly in early

childhood (Adams & Christenson, 2000;

Kinsner et al., 2018). Religious leaders

can serve as eective messengers to

parents because they are trusted by

their congregants and they interact with

families on a regular basis (Kinsner et al.,

2018).

3 Leverage media and technology. Me-

dia and mobile technology can be an

ecient, cost-eective and non-stig-

matizing way to reach a substantial

number of parents, particularly those

parents who may not otherwise receive

parenting support (Sanders et al., 2021;

Sanders & Prinz, 2008). There is a dearth

of studies that have analysed mass

media campaigns that target parents;

however, there are several examples of

mass media campaigns that success-

fully addressed public health and safety

challenges (Elder et al., 2004; Wakeeld,

Loken & Hornik, 2010). When advice is

successfully shared over mass media,

the targeted behaviours become more

normative, and when behaviours be-

come normative, mindsets are more

likely to shift, and population-level

change is more likely to happen (Sand-

ers & Mazzucchelli, 2022). Modern

parents often rely on their mobile device

to share and receive information (Pew

Research Center, 2021), so phone-

based media such as social media and

texting can be particularly powerful

conduits. Parents are heavily involved

in social media (Duggan et al., 2015;

Lupton, Pedersen & Thomas, 2016) and

several organizations have successfully

used apps (Irvin et al., 2020) and texting

(York, Loeb & Doss, 2019; Galinsky et al.,

2017) to reach parents with parenting

information and support.

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

Future research

directions

Parenting and playful learning in dierent

cultures and contexts

More research needs to be done to uncover

the ways in which culture and context shape

how parents engage their children in learning

and play. Cross-cultural examples and evi-

dence should be collected to discover how

playful learning comes to life across diverse

contexts.

• How do parents engage with their children

in learning and play across diverse contexts

and cultures?

Reaching all parents

Research suggests that certain settings and

mechanisms may be particularly eective

conduits to engage parents. We still need to

learn more about which conduits would be

most successful to reach and support all par-

ents with playful learning resources.

• What conduits are both inclusive and ef-

fective in sharing our research with families

across contexts?

• How can all parents, particularly low income

and ‘time-poor’ parents, be supported to

feel like they can be successful in engaging

their child in playful learning?

Changing the lens

Although recent research suggests that

parents may be looking more favourably to-

wards playful learning (Eason & Ramani, 2020;

LaForett & Mendez, 2017a; LEGO, 2018; Lin

& Li, 2018; Winthrop et al., 2021), there is still

a need to better understand how parents

in a variety of contexts conceptualize play.

From there, we must consider prominent

parent beliefs related to play and explore

dierent ways to change the lens on play and

its connection to learning, when necessary.

Systems theory says that in order to shift

collective mindsets, members of society

need to understand that existing practices

do not align with their desired goals (Mead-

ows, 1999; Winthrop et al., 2021). So, we also

need to explore and honour what outcomes

matter to parents, and then investigate mis-

alignments that may exist between parents’

personal goals and current practices.

• What beliefs do parents have about play

and learning? How do these beliefs con-

verge or diverge according to dierent con-

texts and cultures?

• What child outcomes matter to parents?

Are there any common themes of desired

child outcomes across contexts?

• How can we show parents that playful

learning outcomes align with their desired

outcomes in a way that inspires a shift in

mindsets?

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

Closing thoughts

In the race to make sure their child succeeds

in the 21st century, joy – a key piece of what

makes parenting so powerful – is missing. It

is time to bring joy to parents, for the sake

of both parents and children. Parents can

see that supporting their child to thrive in

the 21st Century need not require expen-

sive structured activities or fancy gadgets.

Rather, science elucidates the magic that lies

within the everyday moments parents and

children share. Parents can be empowered

to use the principles of playful learning, and

the approaches introduced in this paper, to

nd natural opportunities for joy and learning

as they go about their day. When we better

understand what playful learning means to

parents in dierent contexts, and involve

parents as partners, we can create a move-

ment for playful learning and joyful parent-

ing. This movement gives parenting back

to parents while simultaneously supporting

children to develop the breadth of skills they

need for our complex and ever-changing

world. We know a world where parents and

children share in the joy and curiosity inher-

ent to playful learning is possible. This white

paper is just the rst step towards our mis-

sion to empower all parents to feel condent

and inspired to engage in playful learning

anytime, anywhere.

Playful Learning & Joyful Parenting

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

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