How Developmental Research Has Informed Practices, Intervention, and Policies of Play
- Jingyun Huang
- Nov 9
- 5 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
Bethany Huang, Nov 9, 2025
Play has been recognized more as an essential element during children’s development. However, there are still many children today experiencing limited access to engage in meaningful and appropriate play. Therefore, research about children’s different aspects of development like cognitive, social and emotional development may help researchers, educators, parents, and policymakers to consider how best to support children to participate in more meaningful play.
Cognitive Development
According to Piaget’s theory, children build knowledge by actively interacting with the world around them. Many abilities he described, including his own child Laurent’s “drop the toy and see what happens” game, the development of object permanence in the sensorimotor stage, and the growth of pretend play, categorization, and symbolic representation in the preoperational stag, are established through play with caregivers or through children’s own explorations. Vygotsky adds another layer by showing that play with more skilled social partners places children in the zone of proximal development, allowing them to gain abilities, including language, that go beyond what they can currently do alone (Siegler et al., 2024).
These ideas have shaped several major approaches to early childhood education. Play-based preschool models draw directly from Piaget and Vygotsky. For example, HighScope is a program based on both theories by encouraging child-initiated activities and supporting by adults (HighScope, n.d.). The Reggio Emilia Approach, which is rooted mainly in Piaget’s ideas, emphasizes self-directed, experimental learning through play (Reggio Emilia Approach, n.d.). Play is also central to interventions such as Tools of the Mind, a curriculum depends on Vygotsky’s theory that uses play activities to strengthen children’s self-regulation skills, including attention, emotion management, etc (Tools of the Mind, n.d.).
Even policy has been shaped by these findings. Some U.S. states have written play-based learning directly into their early learning standards. For example, New Hampshire passed a law requiring play-based learning in kindergarten (New America, 2023).
Social Development
Selman’s Stage Theory of Role Taking shows how children become less egocentric across four stages and gradually learn to understand situations from other people’s perspectives. Dodge’s Information-Processing Theory of Social Problem Solving adds that children may develop a hostile attribution bias when interpreting ambiguous conflicts. Dweck’s theory brings in motivation, highlighting the difference between learning goals and performance goals, as well as fixed versus growth mindsets, where children either believe intelligence is unchangeable or believe it can grow (Siegler et al., 2024).
These ideas have influenced how educators think about play in social settings. Cooperative play is now commonly used in classrooms to help children communicate, negotiate, and build theory of mind. In another post Individual Differences, Jenifer's interviewee Mr. McParland, also uses group games a lot. Moreover, interventions also draw from these theories. Many preschool guidelines recommend that parents and teachers should avoid ability labels but focusing on children's strategies and effort during play. Physical environments are being redesigned as well: more places are restructuring playgrounds into different zones and adding supervision. The Playworks program is a strong example: its coaches help turn aggressive or troubled children into leaders and support shy children or those with conditions like autism in joining play (Playworks, 2025).
Policies reinforce this research as well. U.S. bullying-prevention guidance points out that playgrounds are common locations for bullying and encourages schools to improve supervision and design playground spaces with intention (ASPA, 2019).
Emotional Development
Attachment theory describes how early relationships shape emotional development. Securely attached children use their parents as a safe base from which to explore, while insecure-avoidant children show little interaction with caregivers. Insecure-resistant children seek closeness constantly but hard to explore. Play plays an important role across these patterns (Siegler et al., 2024). For example, Child-Parent Psychotherapy uses play as a way for parents and children to communicate, process trauma, and strengthen or rebuild secure attachment (Wu, 2022)e. Through playful interaction, both sides can express emotions naturally and safely.
Policies also reflect how crucial early relationships are. Many early childhood programs recommend low child-to-staff ratios and small group sizes so that caregivers can build consistent, secure attachments through daily play, such as the NAEYC staff-to-child ratios. In addition, many states have created parental leave policies that offer up to 12 weeks of paid or unpaid job-protected leave (NAEYC, n.d.). This gives parents more time to stay, interact, and play with their children during infancy, supporting the formation of secure attachment early in life.
Conclusion: Children At Risk
By reading the book How Children Develop (7th ed.) we learned in Developmental Psychology, I found it emphasizes several similar points with my exploration in play.
First, timing is important for children. Much research in decades show that early support has the strongest impact because play-based learning can prevent children from losing confidence, falling behind in academic, or failing to adapt social patterns (Siegler et al., 2024). Nowadays, there are more and more programs in the society that provide early play-based learning, especially during toddlerhood and preschool period. Children who participate in these programs show improvements in language, executive functioning, and cooperation skills that makes them more likely to graduate. It’s a reminder that high-quality, play-based learning can reduce a lot of the stress and disadvantages some children face.
Another important point is that biology and environment constantly work together. Every child brings their own temperament and challenges: maybe the difficulty of focusing, maybe sensitivity to noise or distractions (Siegler et al., 2024). Play offers a effective way to help. Kids with ADHD, for instance, benefit not only from medication but from guided games that teach them how to wait, take turns, shift strategies, and interact with other people. In other words, playful activities become practice spaces for these kids to learn self-control as in real world.
These insights shape policies and school decisions. After COVID-19, when many children experienced learning loss and emotional stress, schools didn’t just give students worksheets. Rather, they combined high-intensity tutoring with engaging in play-based activities to rebuild confidence and connection between students. This situation shows the idea that kids learn better when they feel supported, curious, and engage. Play is one of the best tools we have for that. Besides, combining some ideas and strategies parents and teachers can use we mentioned in the previous part, like praising children more on their efforts in the process, play can become more effective for them.
Taking Action for Child Wellbeing
Empowering caregivers with practical guides for child wellbeing is crucial for children's health and happiness. By focusing on physical health, emotional resilience, social skills, cognitive development, and creating a supportive environment, caregivers can significantly impact their children's lives. Remember, taking care of yourself is just as important as caring for your children.
If you find this post helpful, consider trying to apply one or two practices or interventions from this post. Small changes can lead to significant improvements in your family's overall wellbeing. Start today, and watch your children flourish!
Reference
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA). (2019, December 5). Set policies & rules. StopBullying.gov. https://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/rules
Google. (2019). NotebookLM. Google.com. https://notebooklm.google.com/
Highscope. (n.d.). https://highscope.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/HighScope-PS-Curriculum-Preview-Kit_GA.pdf
Playworks is recruiting AmeriCorps Coaches. Playworks. (2025, March 13). https://www.playworks.org/about/careers/americorps/?ads_cmpid=13978731295&ads_adid=124729333373&ads_matchtype=b&ads_network=g&ads_creative=534946020430&utm_term=playworks&ads_targetid=kwd-306996506799&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&ttv=2&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=13978731295&gbraid=0AAAAADlgwctONZQAp85KWOaHlwTkiWeZf&gclid=CjwKCAiA3L_JBhAlEiwAlcWO56PrisJD8LzOIbSUAFdWbq2k8F02x_CrokOcI9X_l_RKwr22WPPSexoCXxAQAvD_BwE
Reggio Emilia Approach. Reggio Children. (n.d.). https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/
Research-based curriculum and training for preschool and kindergarten. Tools of the Mind. (n.d.). https://www.toolsofthemind.org/
Siegler, R. S., Saffran, J., Eisenberg, N., Gershoff, E., & Leaper, C. (2024). How Children Develop (7th ed.). Macmillan Higher Education.
Staff-to-child ratio and class size. (n.d.-b). https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/accreditation/early-learning/staff_child_ratio_0.pdf
State laws requiring play-based learning. New America. (2023, July 28). https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/state-laws-requiring-play-based-learning/
Wu, J. (2022, March 21). Child-parent psychotherapy. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. https://www.nctsn.org/interventions/child-parent-psychotherapy#:~:text=CPP%20is%20an%20intervention%20model,%2C%20behavioral%2C%20and%20social%20functioning.
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