Why Play Matters: Age-by-Age Play Ideas to Build Your Baby's Brain 0-3 Years | Parent Sense Webinar

Worried you're not playing with your little one enough, or not sure what's right for their age? In this Parent Sense webinar, occupational therapist 𝗠𝗲𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲 explains why open-ended play, not flashcards, screens or enrichment classes, is what truly builds your child's brain and prepares them for a fast-changing, post-AI world.

Meg breaks play down into four types, with simple, low-cost activities for every age band from newborn to toddler, most of which use things you already have at home. She also answers parents' questions on play dates, sharing, screen time, preemies and the best time of day to play.

𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡:

• The difference between "achievement mode" and "play mode", and why play wins every time
• The five human skills your child will need most in the future: connection, self-regulation, divergent thinking, social intelligence and resilience
• How open-ended play builds creativity and problem solving, from lying under a tree to a bin of loose parts
• How to scaffold your baby's next skill using parent-guided play and the zone of proximal development
• How social play develops, from "falling in love" in the early weeks to parallel and cooperative play
• A simple rule of thumb for how long play dates should last
• How to build the foundations for imaginative and pretend play, from nursery rhymes to a dress-up box
• Why you don't need more toys, and how to fit play into a busy day
• How to find a daily play activity for your baby's age in the Parent Sense app

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦:

0:00 Welcome and audience introductions

4:52 Meet Meg Faure

5:53 Poll results: play in your home

7:50 Tonight's giveaway

10:37 Achievement mode vs play mode

13:16 What skills will our children need in the future?

14:52 The five skills that matter most in a post-AI world

20:10 The long-term dividends of play

21:30 Play is the curriculum: the four types of play

23:08 Open-ended play, age by age

30:38 Parent-guided play, age by age

39:14 Social play, age by age

44:16 How often, and how long, should play dates be?

45:28 Imaginative and pretend play, age by age

52:58 You don't need more toys

54:03 Finding play activities in the Parent Sense app

54:55 Q&A: playing with a premature baby

55:36 Q&A: helping a reluctant child join in and share

57:22 Q&A: how much screen time for a one-year-old?

58:21 Q&A: play date groups and nursery school

59:38 Q&A: the best time of day for play

1:00:37 Q&A: when to start playgroup

1:01:17 Wrap-up and the Magic of Play course

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥:

Meg Faure is an occupational therapist who has specialised in infants and children under five throughout her career. She is the co-author of eight parenting titles in the bestselling Sense series, including Baby Sense and Weaning Sense, the founder of Play Sense, a playgroup programme for young children, and the creator of the Parent Sense app, which offers a developmental play activity for every day of your baby's life.

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