Talking to Kids About Emotions Through Play
Play is one of the best tools anyone can use when talking to kids about emotions. Play is also an integral and essential part of childhood development, especially since children mostly learn through play and it greatly contributes to their overall well-being and development. Through play, kids not only explore a range of emotions, but also grow cognitively by learning problem-solving and creativity, enjoy the benefits of physical fitness, and develop certain social skills, such as empathy, communication, and leadership. Emotional learning through play can take many forms, and there are various types of play that one can use to communicate with children about emotions, including the following:
Pretend play
This enables children to express their emotions in a safe space outside the real world. Through pretend play, children can learn empathy because it involves entering into someone else’s shoe and imagining life beyond themselves to play a character. Children can also express their feelings by acting them out. Pretend play also allows children who are introverted or people-pleasers to practice expressing their emotions in a non-confrontational way.
Physical exercise
Normally, the energy which is generated from time outside provides children with the opportunity to work through their emotions. Exercise enables children to get their energy out instead of engaging in problematic behaviour, such as breaking things or throwing tantrums, especially if they are frustrated or anxious after sitting too long. Open spaces also provide children with the opportunity to express themselves physically.
Playing with others
Children tend to model their behaviour on what they see others do. Therefore, when playing with children of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities, they might become aware of options they never considered before. Moreover, they can easily process what they are feeling verbally as they talk to other children about their emotions whilst playing, supporting emotional learning through play.
Messy play
Like play, emotions too can get messy and complicated. In fact, sometimes, even adults have trouble expressing them. Given that unstructured play doesn’t involve rules or objectives, it enables children to work out their emotions in a safe and non-destructive way. This can be done by, for instance, using sandboxes and water tables which allow children to take control of certain situations given that they have no instructions and rules.
Dramatic play
This kind of play involves reenacting stories, which children tend to love. Books and movies show characters facing conflicts children relate to and understand. These narratives help kids observe how others cope with emotional challenges effectively. Children often mimic characters whose coping strategies lead to positive emotional outcomes and growth. They enact these stories using their surroundings to process and express emotions creatively. Playgrounds become imaginative settings where real emotions are explored through dramatic storytelling. A child might pretend a troll lives beneath the bridge and plan responses. The slide tower transforms into a mountain symbolising fears they must bravely face. These fantasy scenarios allow children to process feelings through safe, structured pretend situations. Their imagination becomes a tool for managing and expressing difficult real emotions. Through play, children build emotional understanding by reliving stories and practicing coping mechanisms.
Written by Johanna Cutajar
If you think that you can benefit from professional support on this issue you can reach out here.
Johanna Cutajar is a Master in Counselling graduate from the University of Malta. She works with children and adolescents as a counsellor within the education sector on a variety of issues including relationship issues, trauma, bereavement, transitions, and general mental health.
References
Parenting Tips (2024). Role-Play Helps Kids with Emotions. Retrieved from https://anybabycan.org/blog/pretend-talk-emotions/
