Three quarters of parents who admit they struggle to find new ways to entertain their children – should simply let them take the lead instead, an expert has revealed
Clinical psychologist, Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, best known for appearing on Channel 4’s The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6-year-olds, says parents shouldn’t set the bar too high – and the most important factor was simply giving children their undivided attention.
And Dr Kilbey emphasised it can be easier, as well as beneficial, for parents to let their child lead play sessions.
It follows research into parents of children, aged three to 10, revealed that 51 per cent feel they and their little ones are equally likely to lead play.
One in four parents admitted it can be easy to forget how important playtime is, despite 49 per cent accepting it helps build stronger bonds with their children.
Commenting on the research, commissioned by Kinder Surprise, Dr Elizabeth Kilbey said: “Play is essential to their development, but as adults, I think we can easily forget how joyful and fun playing really is. You don’t always need to come up with new or clever ideas.
“The important thing about playing with your child is spending that little time with them, focusing on activities they particularly like to do.
“One important method of play is child-led play, in which you allow your child to set the agenda for what you are doing together and you follow their lead, commenting on the activities that they are doing to keep them engaged.”
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
// We only want these styles applied when javascript is enabled
$(‘.gal_content’).css(‘display’, ‘block’);
// Initialize Advanced Galleriffic Gallery
var gallery = $(‘#thumbs_68514_7’).galleriffic({
delay: 0,
numThumbs: 0,
preloadAhead: 0,
enableTopPager: false,
enableBottomPager: false,
imageContainerSel: ‘#slideshow_68514_7’,
controlsContainerSel: ‘#controls_68514_7’,
captionContainerSel: ‘#caption_68514_7’,
loadingContainerSel: ‘#loading_68514_7’,
renderSSControls: true,
renderNavControls: false,
playLinkText: ”,
pauseLinkText: ”,
enableHistory: false,
autoStart: false,
enableKeyboardNavigation: true,
syncTransitions: false,
defaultTransitionDuration: 300,
onTransitionOut: function(slide, caption, isSync, callback) {
slide.fadeTo(this.getDefaultTransitionDuration(isSync), 0.0, callback);
caption.fadeTo(this.getDefaultTransitionDuration(isSync), 0.0);
},
onTransitionIn: function(slide, caption, isSync) {
var duration =
