In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a clinical report on the power of play, titled “Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children.”

The AAP’s research demonstrates that developmentally appropriate play with peers and caregivers leads to social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain.

From the report:

Play is not frivolous: it enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function (ie, the process of learning, rather than the content), which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions.

When play and safe, stable, nurturing relationships are missing in a child’s life, toxic stress can disrupt the development of executive function and the learning of prosocial behavior; in the presence of childhood adversity, play becomes even more important. The mutual joy and shared communication and attunement (harmonious serve and return interactions) that parents and children can experience during play regulate the body’s stress response. This clinical report provides pediatric providers with the information they need to promote the benefits of play and and to write a prescription for play at well visits to complement reach out and read. At a time when early childhood programs are pressured to add more didactic components and less playful learning, pediatricians can play an important role in emphasizing the role of a balanced curriculum that includes the importance of playful learning for the promotion of healthy child development.

Read the entirety of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ report.