Katie Taylor, CCLS Child Life On Call for SmileMakers Inc

The music starts to play and we unconsciously tap our feet.

Food moves toward our mouth and it magically opens.

We leave the room and switch off the light.

These things happen without effort in a part of our brain called the limbic system. They happen with little, if any, effort. As natural and unprovoked as these actions are to us, play is as effortless to children. Here are a few scenarios to consider…

A young toddler is given a present with an expensive, one-of-a-kind item inside. The child has no frame of reference for why this is happening or what is inside the box, but what she does discover inside is magical. The tissue paper. This brightly colored paper that makes a crinkly sound when you put it through your fingers. She studies it, throws it, touches it, begins to cover her head with it. This is play, simply out of nowhere.

A child is taken to the beach for the first time and uses his hands to dig into the foreign texture of the sand. From the first scoop and puddle forms and the beginnings of a moat around the castle has begun to form. This is play, simply out of nowhere.

These scenarios are not unusual, in fact they are incredibly typical. When offered the opportunity to play children will generally take it. They don't need direction; they just need the space to do it.

That is why offering children the opportunity and space to play in unfamiliar environments is so important. Play is their natural language and can help them adjust to a strange situation. Pretend play has no limits and should be allowed and encouraged . No adult intervention or guidance is needed for pretend play to be facilitated.