A Parent’s Guide to Play-Based Techniques at Home
Parents are essential partners in DBI. This post offers practical, play-based strategies families can use every day, such as: – Creating a predictable play routine – Using favorite toys to practice communication – Playing pretend to explore emotions and scenarios – Celebrating small successes during play.
We encourage families to keep play sessions short, positive, and pressure-free. The goal is to make learning fun and meaningful.
Education Tip: Even five minutes of focused play each day can make a big difference in your child’s development. Consistency and encouragement are key!
Play at Home: Practical Strategies for Parents in Developmental Behavioural Intervention
As parents, you are your child’s first and most important teachers. The moments you share throughout each day—from morning routines to bedtime stories—are filled with opportunities for learning and growth. In Developmental Behavioural Intervention, we don’t just work with children; we partner with families, because the real magic happens when therapeutic strategies extend beyond our sessions and into your everyday life.
The good news? You don’t need special equipment, a therapy degree, or hours of free time. What you need is already within you—the desire to support your child, a willingness to play, and a few practical strategies to guide you. Let’s explore how you can become a powerful partner in your child’s development through the simple, joyful act of play.
Why Parent Involvement Makes All the Difference
Research consistently shows that children make the most progress when their families are actively involved in therapeutic interventions. This makes intuitive sense—therapists might see your child for a few hours each week, but you’re with them every day, in all the real-world situations where they need to apply their developing skills.
When you use play-based strategies at home, you’re doing several important things. You’re providing your child with consistent practice opportunities, which is essential for skill development. You’re reinforcing what they’re learning in therapy, helping those skills stick. You’re also discovering what works uniquely for your child and your family, becoming an expert on your child’s needs and strengths.
Perhaps most importantly, you’re building connection. Play is relationship-building at its finest. When you get down on the floor with your child, enter their world, and share in their joy and interests, you’re strengthening your bond while supporting their development.
Creating a Predictable Play Routine
Children thrive on predictability. Knowing what to expect helps them feel safe, reduces anxiety, and allows them to engage more fully in activities. Creating a predictable play routine doesn’t mean scheduling every moment or removing spontaneity—it simply means building some consistent structure around playtime that helps your child know what’s coming.
Choosing Your Play Time
Start by identifying a time of day when your child is typically regulated and receptive. For some children, this might be mid-morning after breakfast. For others, it might be after school once they’ve had a snack and some downtime. Avoid times when your child is hungry, tired, or overstimulated—these aren’t ideal conditions for learning.
Consistency matters more than duration. A predictable fifteen-minute play session every day is more valuable than an hour-long session that only happens when schedules align. Your child’s brain learns through repetition, and regular practice helps skills become automatic.
Structuring the Play Session
A simple structure might look like this: a consistent start signal (perhaps a special song or phrase like “It’s playtime!”), the play activity itself, a warning that playtime is ending soon (using a timer or visual countdown can help), and a consistent closing ritual (cleaning up together, a high-five, or a special goodbye to the toys).
This predictable flow helps children, especially those with autism or anxiety, transition into and out of play more smoothly. They learn what to expect, which frees up mental energy they can direct toward learning and engagement rather than managing uncertainty.
Creating the Play Space
You don’t need a dedicated playroom, but having a consistent space where play happens can be helpful. This might be a corner of the living room, a spot at the kitchen table, or your child’s bedroom floor. The key is that it’s relatively free from distractions—turn off the TV, put phones away, and minimize interruptions when possible.
Keep the play materials simple and organized. Too many options can be overwhelming. Instead, rotate toys so there’s novelty without chaos. Store toys in clear bins or use picture labels so your child can participate in setup and cleanup, building independence and organizational skills.
Using Favorite Toys to Practice Communication
Your child’s favorite toys and interests are golden opportunities for building communication skills. When children are engaged with something they love, they’re naturally motivated to interact, making it the perfect context for practicing language and social communication.
Following Your Child's Lead
Start by observing what your child gravitates toward. Do they love cars? Dolls? Building blocks? Animals? Whatever captures their attention is your entry point. Sit with them and join in their play without immediately trying to change or direct it. This shows respect for their interests and builds the foundation of shared engagement.
As you play alongside your child, narrate what’s happening. “You’re pushing the blue car. It’s going fast!” This kind of commentary, called parallel talk, exposes your child to language in context. You’re not demanding responses—you’re simply modeling language connected to their current focus.
Creating Communication Opportunities
Once you’re engaged together, you can gently create situations that encourage communication. “Controlled sabotage” is a playful technique where you create a minor problem that requires communication to solve. You might offer a toy with the lid stuck, hand your child a car when they clearly want the truck, or “forget” an essential piece of their activity.
The key is to pause and wait expectantly. Give your child time to communicate their need—through gestures, sounds, words, or however they’re currently able. When they do communicate, respond immediately and positively. This teaches them that communication is powerful and effective.
Expanding Language Through Play
Use your child’s interests to introduce and practice new words. If your child loves animals, play with animal figures while modeling names, sounds, actions, and descriptive words. “The elephant is big. The elephant is walking. Can you make the elephant walk?”
For children who are already talking, use play to introduce more complex language. Ask simple questions during play: “Which one do you want?” “Where should the car go?” “What happens next?” Expand on their utterances—if they say “car go,” you might respond with “Yes, the red car is going down the ramp!”
Remember, the goal isn’t to quiz your child or turn every moment into a lesson. It’s to create a rich language environment where communication feels natural, necessary, and rewarding.
Playing Pretend to Explore Emotions and Scenarios
Pretend play, also called imaginative or symbolic play, is a powerful tool for helping children understand emotions, practice social situations, and work through challenging experiences. It allows children to step outside themselves and explore different perspectives and possibilities in a safe, controllable way.
Starting Simple
If your child is new to pretend play, start with simple, concrete scenarios based on their daily experiences. Pretend to feed a doll or stuffed animal, put them to bed, or take them to the doctor. These familiar routines are easier to recreate than more abstract scenarios.
As your child becomes comfortable, you can introduce variations and challenges within the pretend play. “Oh no, the baby doesn’t want to eat! What should we do?” This kind of gentle problem-posing encourages thinking and decision-making.
Exploring Emotions Through Characters
Pretend play creates emotional distance that can make it easier for children to explore feelings. It’s often less threatening to talk about how the teddy bear feels than how the child themselves feels. Use dolls, action figures, or puppets to act out scenarios involving different emotions.
“The dinosaur is going to school for the first time. I think he feels nervous. His tummy feels funny.” As you narrate the character’s emotions, you’re teaching emotional vocabulary and helping your child recognize that emotions have physical sensations, names, and that others experience them too.
You can also use pretend play to work through scenarios your child finds challenging. If your child struggles with doctor visits, playing doctor can help them feel more in control. If they have difficulty with sharing, acting out sharing scenarios with toys provides low-stakes practice.
Practicing Social Situations
Role-playing social scenarios helps children rehearse interactions before facing them in real life. You might act out greeting a friend, asking someone to play, handling it when someone says “no,” or joining a game that’s already in progress.
Let your child practice both roles—sometimes they’re the child asking to play, sometimes they’re the friend responding. This dual perspective helps develop theory of mind and empathy. After acting out a scenario, talk about it: “How do you think the friend felt when we asked nicely?” “What could we do differently next time?”
The beauty of pretend play is that mistakes are completely safe. If your child’s character grabs a toy instead of asking, you can simply reset and try again. “Let’s rewind and try that another way!” This builds skills without any real-world consequences.
Celebrating Small Successes During Play
In a world that often focuses on what children can’t do or haven’t mastered yet, intentionally celebrating small successes is transformative. Every bit of progress matters, and when children feel noticed and appreciated for their efforts and achievements, they build the confidence and motivation to keep trying.
Recognizing Effort, Not Just Outcomes
Celebrate the process as much as the result. Did your child try a new activity even though they were hesitant? That’s worth celebrating. Did they persist with a challenging puzzle for longer than usual? That deserves recognition. Did they use words instead of grabbing? Absolutely worth highlighting.
“You tried so hard to build that tall tower!” is just as valuable as “You built such a tall tower!” The first celebrates effort and persistence—qualities that will serve your child throughout life. The second celebrates achievement, which is wonderful, but effort-based praise builds a growth mindset.
Making Celebrations Meaningful
Celebrations don’t need to be elaborate. Sometimes, the most powerful reinforcement is simply authentic enthusiasm. A genuine smile, a warm “I saw that!” or “You did it!” communicates so much.
For some children, physical celebrations work well—a high-five, fist bump, or hug. Others might prefer verbal praise. Some children might like a sticker or getting to choose the next activity. Pay attention to what lights your child up and use that.
Creating a Success Focus
At the end of each play session, highlight something your child did well. “Today you took turns three times with the puzzle pieces!” or “I loved how you used your words to ask for the blue block!” This creates a positive ending and helps your child recognize their own growth.
You might even keep a simple success journal—just a notebook where you jot down small wins you notice each day. Over time, this record becomes powerful evidence of progress, especially during challenging periods when it might feel like nothing is improving.
Keeping Play Sessions Short, Positive, and Pressure-Free
The phrase “less is more” truly applies to therapeutic play at home. It’s tempting to want to do more, practice more, teach more—especially when you’re seeing progress. But for play to be effective, it needs to remain enjoyable and low-pressure.
The Power of Short Sessions
Fifteen to twenty minutes of focused, engaged play is often more valuable than an hour of play where attention wanes and frustration builds. Short sessions allow you to end on a positive note while your child is still engaged and successful. This leaves them wanting more rather than feeling exhausted or overwhelmed.
For very young children or those with limited attention spans, even five to ten minutes might be ideal. You can always have multiple short sessions throughout the day rather than one long session.
Maintaining Positivity
Your energy and attitude set the tone for play. Approach playtime with genuine curiosity and playfulness rather than as another task to check off. Children are incredibly perceptive—they can tell when you’re going through the motions versus when you’re truly present and enjoying your time together.
When challenging moments arise, maintain a positive, supportive stance. If your child becomes frustrated, that’s actually a learning opportunity. Model calm problem-solving: “That is tricky! Let’s take a breath and try together.” Your regulation in these moments teaches them how to handle their own frustrations.
Releasing Pressure and Expectations
Perhaps the most important guideline is to release pressure and rigid expectations. Some days will be amazing—your child will be engaged, communicative, and learning visibly. Other days will be harder. They might be dysregulated, uninterested, or struggling. This is all normal and expected.
Don’t force activities if your child is clearly not in a receptive space. Don’t continue pushing when frustration is escalating. It’s okay to pause, try something different, or even skip a session if needed. The relationship you’re building matters more than any single play session.
Remember, you’re not trying to recreate formal therapy at home. You’re simply creating opportunities for connection and learning through play. There’s no test, no performance standard. The goal is meaningful engagement, not perfection.
Practical Tips for Success
Start Where You Are
You don’t need to implement all these strategies at once. Choose one—maybe creating a predictable play routine or using a favorite toy to encourage communication—and start there. Once that feels natural, add another strategy.
Be Flexible
These are guidelines, not rigid rules. Adapt them to fit your family’s schedule, your child’s needs, and your own parenting style. What works for one family might not work for another, and that’s perfectly fine.
Ask for Support
Stay connected with your child’s therapy team. Share what’s working at home and what’s challenging. They can provide specific suggestions tailored to your child and troubleshoot difficulties you’re encountering. You’re not in this alone.
Take Care of Yourself
You can’t pour from an empty cup. Make sure you’re getting the support you need too. It’s okay to ask your partner, a family member, or a friend to cover playtime sometimes. It’s okay to take breaks. Sustainable, long-term involvement requires taking care of yourself.
The Joy of Partnership
As you incorporate these strategies into your daily life, remember that you’re not just teaching your child skills—you’re building a relationship. You’re showing up for them, entering their world, and communicating through your presence and attention that they matter.
The learning that happens through play is important, but equally important is the message you’re sending: “I see you. I enjoy being with you. We’re in this together.”
At Clear Health Solutions, we’re honored to partner with families like yours. We know that the work you do at home—the daily moments of connection, practice, and celebration—is where lasting change happens. Our role is to equip you with strategies, support you through challenges, and celebrate alongside you as your child grows.
Play is powerful. Your involvement is essential. Together, we can help your child build skills, confidence, and joy. Start small, stay consistent, celebrate progress, and remember to enjoy the journey. After all, childhood is meant to be playful—and learning should be too.
