“The activities that are the easiest, cheapest, and most fun to do – such as singing, playing games, reading, storytelling, and just talking and listening – are also the best for child development.” – Jerome Singer (professor, Yale University)
Archive for Play Therapy Toys
Questions about “must have” toys get asked so many times by clinicians new to the field of play therapy. And, the answers can vary widely. I’ve given parents some of my favorite toys in the past.
Dr. Landreth’s “Must Have” Toy Categories:
The foundation for play therapy training for a lot of clinicians is Dr. Garry Landreth and Child Centered Play Therapy. He advises that play therapists include several toys from each of three categories. Note that this list does not include everything that would fit into each category (they are just examples) and also that you do need everything on any list
Real Life
- Play kitchens and play food
- Doctor kits and band-aids
- Dolls and Dollhouses
- Animals, Cars, Trucks, People
- Cash Register and Play Money
Expressive/Creative
Aggressive/Emotional Release
- Toy guns
- Foam swords
- Rubber knives
- Rope
- Soldiers
- Aggressive puppets or figures (sharks, dinosaur, alligator, etc)
Directive Play Therapists “Must Have” Toys
When doing more structured or directive play therapy interventions, you usually need things like:
“Must Have” Elements of a Play Therapy Space
It can be quite easy to find excellent toys everywhere you go. And Dr. Garry Landreth reminds us all to beware of the urge to get everything. He says in his book, The Art of the Relationship, “Toys should be selected, not collected.”
And I created this infographic to summarize my thoughts on creating the perfect play therapy space that you might find helpful.
Reframing The Question
But, I just recently heard it explained in a wonderful way by a colleague, Dr. Jessica Stone, who responded to this very question during a discussion board about the Play Therapy Summit. She gave me permission to share it with you:
Hi all, I like to take an approach of collecting gems along my way in this field. I am not sure I could identify the one thing my office couldn’t live without. It is complex. Is that my personal favorite thing? Or my client’s? Or the majority of my clients? What comprises a favorite thing?
I believe what we have in our offices needs to be a balance of 1) what is congruent with who we are, what we believe, what our theoretical foundation is, what our space allows comfortably, etc. and 2) what speaks our client’s language, what helps our clients speak, what speaks to our clients, what allows them to experience feeling heard, seen, important, and understood.
I like to take a gem from Maria Montessori and think of the tools in my office as a way of scaffolding within the office. There are items that fit where they are in this moment, items that help them move forward, and items that work when they need to regress a bit.
Sometimes these tools aren’t our preferred or favorite. Sometimes they are. As I look around my office in response to your question I think about the clients who use the majority of the tools in my office on any given day but I also think about that one client, the one who found the tool that meant the most to them and they used it in the most amazing way – whatever that meant for them – Jessica Stone, Ph.D., RPT-S”
As I was packing up my office to move out of the state this week, I found Dr Stone’s words especially helpful. I usually play loud music when doing tasks like this, but this time, I held each of the toys and remembered the children that used them and how they used them. It was a mix of joy and sadness as I reflected on all of those shared moments in this specific playroom.
Final Thoughts:
In the end, I would recommend selecting a few items from each of Dr. Garry Landreth’s categories and then considering Dr. Stone’s advice about seeing the value of all the different toys in the playroom. But, know that whatever you have is enough. As long as you are in the room, focusing on the relationship with the child and responding in an authentic manner
**The post What are the “Must Have” Toys for a New Play Therapist? appeared first on Jennifer Taylor Play Therapy.
Child clinicians have always been aware of the importance of play. And by play I don’t mean playing a video game or staring at a screen! Some studies are now indicating that the average nine-year-old spends 35 hours in front of a TV, and another 10 hours per week in front of other screens. Researchers are beginning to talk about a “Play Deficit Disorder.” Peter Gray in his 2014 TED talk offers a succinct and convincing argument that play is declining and what the consequences are of this decline in play.
So what is play? According to the United Kingdom’s Children’s Play Information Service:
Play includes a range of self-chosen activities, undertaken for their own interest, enjoyment and the satisfaction that results for children;
Very young children, even babies, show playful behavior when they explore sound and simple actions and experiment with objects of interest;
Play activities are not essential to meet basic physical survival needs. But play does seem to support children’s emotional well-being as well as a wide range of learning within their whole development;
Children can play alone, but often they play with other children and with familiar adults. Even very young children engage in simple give-and-take or copying games with their peers, older siblings or with adults;
A playful quality in activities is shown by the exercise of choice, enjoyable repetition and invitation to others to join the play.
In the 1930s Vygotsky noted the centrality and importance of play in normal development. In a fascinating TED talk “Play Is More Than Just Fun” Stuart Brown noted that not only does play make us happy, but it also makes us smarter. His studies of criminals revealed that many of the folks that go on to commit horrible crimes against their fellow humans have been deprived of developmentally appropriate play.
On a behavioral and social level play allow children to experiment with social behaviors and interactions. Links between children’s propensity to play and their development of cooperative skills, social competence, and peer acceptance have been empirically established. Play allows children to experiment with social interactions and behaviors. Piaget theorized that make-believe play provides children opportunities to reproduce real-life conflicts, to work out ideal resolutions for their own pleasure, and to ameliorate negative feelings. Developmental psychologists suggest play constitutes an emotionally significant context through which themes of power and dominance, aggression, nurturance, anxiety, pain, loss, growth, and joy can be enacted productively.
Not only is play important for development of social and emotional intelligence, it is also necessary for the development of the brain. All mammals play, and animal research has clearly demonstrated the deleterious effects of no play. In his TED talk Stuart Brown reported that when play is suppressed in rats their survival behaviors become altered, and when exposed to a threat they hide as they should, but they never venture out from their hiding spot and subsequently die. In humans, play changes the connections of neurons in the prefrontal cortex, and it is these neurons that play an important role in executive functioning.
So what is a child therapist to do? Winnicott argued that playing is a necessary part of working with children: “Psychotherapy takes place in the overlap of two areas of playing, that of the patient and that of the therapist. Psychotherapy has to do with two people playing together. The corollary of this is that where playing is not possible then the work done by the therapist is directed towards bringing the patient from a state of not being able to play into a state of being able to play.”
It seems that we now find ourselves in a position of teaching many of our clients how to play! Other opportunities to promote play may arise when counseling parents or consulting in schools. There is probably not a single child clinician who hasn’t cringed when told that a child is routinely punished by withholding recess. If anything, we should be giving our clients more play time when they are challenged to regulate themselves in a classroom. IEPs and 504 plans should note that recess should not be used as a negative consequence. Many of our clients are over scheduled, and parents may need help prioritizing what activities the child is enrolled in. And of course, screen time needs to be regulated.
Visit Child Therapy Toys for more play therapy supplies and kits!
Save money and greatly expand your sand tray miniature collection with this figurine set!
Figures are durable and sturdy, and represent multiple skin tones.
The tallest figurine is 5 inches and the smallest is about 1.5 inches.
The 40 figures include:
Woman Signing
Woman with Eye Patch
Man with Crutches
Woman with Vision Impairment
Firefighter & Hydrant
Mechanic with Tire
Man with Tool Belt and Tool Box
Business Woman
Man with Computer
Chef
Pilot
Mail Carrier
Woman with Book/Librarian
Pretend Play Grandparents (African-American)
Pretend Play Grandparents (Asian)
Pretend Play Grandparents (Caucasian)
Pretend Play Grandparents (Hispanic)
African American Pretend Play Man & Woman
Asian Pretend Play Man and Woman
Caucasian Pretend Play Man and Woman
Hispanic Pretend Play Man and Woman
Pretend Play Girl and Baby – African-American
Pretend Play Boy and Baby – Asian
Pretend Play Girl and Baby – Caucasian
Pretend Play Girl and Baby – Hispanic
Police Officer
Bride in Lace and Groom – Caucasian
Bride in Lace and Groom – AA
Buy the entire set at Childtherapytoys.com today!
Childtherapytoys.com is always looking for unique resources that can further its mission of providing the best and most extensive selection of child and play therapy products. Meet the Ready Set Go Superhero Bears. This cuddly duo, Brian and Brianna, can be purchased together or separately and include a set of tools for kids that promote self-esteem and provide positive affirmations. An included story book is one of the tools that promotes self-esteem, a sense of optimism, and confidence. In the story Brian and Brianna get “Ready” to overcome their fears, “Set” their goals high and “Go” out there and be the best they can be. The appeal of the bears is increased by their superhero mask and cape, and a special dog-tag style pendant that children can remove from the bears and wear. Each Ready Set Go Superhero Bear kit includes the storybook and an instructional guide that provides easy step-by-step suggestions that the child can easily incorporate into their everyday life.
One example of how to use the Ready Set Go Superhero Bears was shared with us by Dr. Flores-Pinos, a licensed psychologist in New Jersey: “The Ready! Set! Go! Bears are currently being utilized by clinicians at Bergen Psychological Services. These bears are effective in helping children understand friendship skills, assertiveness, and sets the foundation for increasing self-regulation skills. We love how the bears can be utilized in individual sessions or a social skills group setting. Definitely recommending these bears to other clinicians!” Part of the appeal of Brian and Brianna is that they are very sturdy and made of bright, soft material that is likely to appeal to a wide variety of children.
Watch the Adventures of the Ready Set Go Bears below…
It has been over 8 months since Inside Out, the hit movie from Pixar, was released, and this weekend we’ll find out if it wins an Oscar. In the 8 months since the release Inside Out it has been an educational and therapeutic bonanza for parents, teachers, counselors, and therapists. For both adults and children the movie candidly explores the many sides of mental health. Most of us are familiar with the story. Riley, an 11 year old girl from Minnesota has her life up-ended when her father takes a job in San Francisco. The transition isn’t easy for Riley and we are introduced to:
Joy
Anger
Fear
Disgust
Sadness
We learn that all of these emotions are adaptive, helpful, and have an important role to play in Riley’s and her parent’s lives. The figurines from the movie have proven to be a great tool for both play therapy and sand tray therapy. The plush figures have also proven to be a great addition to
many therapist’s play rooms. They have also been used in some innovative ways. For example, Mary, a kindergarten teacher, uses the stuffed figures to talk about emotions and teach feeling words to her class. In another blog, a foster mother talks about how the plush figures can be used like puppets to talk about emotions, a natural activity for many child therapists.
Counselors, therapists and teachers have incorporated the Inside Out characters and movie themes into a wide range of activities. For example, The Helpful Counselor (she really is quite helpful, check out her blog) identified and posted 20 clips from the movie that can be used to explore feelings, identify coping strategies, develop empathy, and learn how memories impact our understanding of the world around us. Linda Esposito, writing on the Psychology Today blog, talks about how Inside Out promotes emotional intelligence, while Mary Ryerse, writing on the Gottman Blog identifies 12 ways the movie can be used to promote emotional intelligence. Nickki Schwartz found 50 ways Inside Out can be used in counseling. Carolyn Mehlomakula has put together a really fun collection of creative activities using themes and characters from the movie.
Of course, there are many ways to promote emotional intelligence, improve a child’s feeling vocabulary, and facilitate the identification and expression of feelings. ChildTherapyToys.com is constantly searching for the latest and best books, games, and toys that can be used in child and play therapy. Of course we have our favorites, but so do our clients. Our most popular plush toys in the past year have been Meebie, Emotiplush, and the WorryWoos. Just click on the links to find out more about 
them. One of the biggest hits at the Association for Play Therapy Conference in October was out Worry Eaters. Our most popular books have included The Dealing With Feelings series, Our Emotions and Behavior Series, and The Way I Feel. Games related to feelings that have hit the best seller list in the past year have included: The Stop, Relax, and Think Board Game, The Feelings Playing Cards, Emotional Bingo for Children, and Angry Animals.
We were fortunate enough in the past year to acquire the rights to Kindle Mental feelings posters and images. So far we have re-published four posters and our Bilingual Feelings Coloring Book.
Our fellow therapists are our best resource. Let us know how you’re using your favorite play therapy toys, games, and books.
Feeling identification and expression is an important aspect of effective communication and maintaining relationships. Childtherapytoys.com has recently partnered with Kindle Mental Publishing to produce educational posters that help children and adolescents develop this important skill. In order to increase the appeal of these posters, and their functionality, we have produced posters suitable for preschoolers through adulthood, and we have used photographs and graphics to depict a wide variety of feelings. To increase durability the posters are laminated. We have also kept the price low, selling the 18 x 24 inch posters for only 9.95 each. Check out all of our new Kindle Mental posters:
Laminated Child Feelings Poster
Laminated Teen Feelings Poster
Laminated Spanish/English Youth Feelings Poster
Laminated Spanish/English Feeling Poster, with Graphics
Laminated Blue Feeling Poster, with Graphics
In addition to obtaining appropriate and ongoing training, the child therapist who wants to do sandtray work will need:
The sand
The best sand is going to be sand that is safe and free of dust and asbestos. White is the preferred color. If starting with a standard size tray, you will need 35-40 lbs. We generally recommend buying 50 lbs. when starting. This gives you enough sand to fill the tray and have some left over to replace sand that is spilled or knocked out of the tray.
The sand tray
Many therapists prefer the standard size tray which is based on a model developed by Dora Kalff. The tray is 29” x 19” x 3”. Individual craftsman may vary the dimensions slightly. The size of the tray is determined by what an individual can see without turning their head. Therefore, slight differences in length and width are not important, and the depth is adjustable. Some tray makers prefer to make a slightly deeper tray. The inside of the tray should be blue, to represent sky and water. Some therapists prefer to have two trays, one for dry sand and the second for wet sand. For therapists on a limited budget smaller trays, and trays made of plastic make sense. ChildTherapyToys.com has a large selection of trays, suitable for all budgets.
The Miniatures
Buying miniatures when starting out can be a daunting task. Guidelines for buying miniatures can be unhelpful. For example, it is recommended that a miniature collection include “everything that is in the world.” More helpful guidelines break things down into categories (see below). Allow yourself to be flexible and open to a range of sizes, objects, and figures. There is no “right” size or perfect miniature.
ChildTherapyToys.com has tried to make the process simpler by offering a number of beginner, intermediate, and deluxe packages. However, many therapists enjoy shopping for their own packages and creating their own collection. ChildTherapyToys.com carries well over 1,000 miniatures. Arrange your miniatures on narrow shelves, so that they items in the back are not hidden. Create categories that make sense to you, and try to avoid putting “scary” items next to a child or small animal figure.
Other considerations for collecting miniatures includes the ages of your clients & presenting issues. It is important to have a variety of cultural backgrounds and ethnicities represented. It is also important to have a variety of environments represented such has home, school, playground, hospital, office, and sports field. Include both real and fantasy objects and creatures. Sculpey may be used to create interesting and hard to find objects, such as fire or a tornado.
Suggested figures
A list of suggested figures can never be complete. However, this list should provide a good place to start thinking about what you want to include in your collection.
Animals
You will want to include the following categories of animals in your collection: Dinosaurs, domestic animals, farm animals, ocean animals, reptiles and amphibians, wild animals, birds, and bugs/butterflies/spiders.
Fantasy Creatures
This may include unicorns, Cerberus, mermaids; cartoon and movie figures; fairies and elves; as well as action heroes. Other fantasy figures that should be included are witches and wizards; royalty; mythical beings; and monsters.
Household Items
In addition to houses, it is helpful to have food, furniture, and utensils.
Landscaping Materials
This includes not only trees, but bridges, stones, shells, fences, signs, water, hiding places, and plants.
Vehicles
Try to have a variety of vehicles including trucks, passenger cars, rescue vehicles, and water vehicles.
People
It is hard to have too many people. You will want to have human figures to represent all ages, and a variety of ethnicities and occupations. Human figures will also include religious figures, action figures, and fighting and military figures.
Buildings
Buildings that can be represented include the home, schools, offices, lighthouses, as well as partially destroyed buildings.
Miscellaneous
This might actually be the largest category. It can include just about anything including shiny objects, poop, bones, demolition tools, cigarettes, volcano, pills, statues, and so on.
1) To be the premier provider of therapeutic tools to play and child therapists.
ChildTherapyToys.com was born in 2001, in the home garage of Gary Yorke, Ph.D. and Jane Yorke, M.A. After seeing his patients each day, Dr. Gary would come home and ship customer orders with support from his family. Once word got out, business picked up and neighborhood teens were hired to assist with shipping and receiving. Eventually, the business grew too large for the family garage, and a small 800-square-foot space was rented on the second floor of a retail center. Shortly thereafter, ChildTherapyToys.com was able to hire its first full-time employee. A few short years and thousands of satisfied customers later, we now occupy a 3,000 square foot warehouse in Austin, Texas with a staff of three full-time and four part-time employees. We are proud to be the largest seller of play and child therapy toy products on the internet.
2) To always be attentive to the needs of our customers and responsive to their concerns.
We are committed to our customers! ChildTherapyToys.com stands behind all of the products we carry. In addition to having a unique and generous return policy on all of our games, our company supports play therapy around the country. We have donated merchandise to local agencies in need as well as routinely providing auction and door prizes to state and regional conferences. Many workshop presenters are also given the option of providing discount coupons to their workshop participants. ChildTherapyToys.com regularly attends The Association for Play Therapy annual conference, and supports APT through exhibitor fees and their advertising programs. Our president and founder Dr. Gary also provides workshops around the country on the use of games in play therapy, and matches dollar-for-dollar donations made through our website to the Save The Children Fund. Dr. Gary Yorke, a licensed psychologist, with over 25 years of experience, selects all games and is available to answer inquiries about the use of games and other items in a clinical setting.
Most importantly, we value your feedback! At the suggestion of one of our earliest customers we began carrying sand tray miniatures, and as demand for our miniatures grew we added sand and sand trays. Many of the products we now carry were suggested by our customers. In fact, many of the products we carry are made by, or published by our customers!
3) To be an ethical employer.
All of our full-time staff enjoy medical, disability, dental, and life insurance benefits, in addition to a Health Savings Account and a Costco membership. This year we are pleased to institute a matching funds retirement plan. Our part-time employees, mostly drawn from the university community and Austin music scene, are paid well above the minimum wage.
4) To be good stewards of the environment.
Since day one we have used biodegradable peanuts to package our products. We recycle boxes and packaging materials daily, and recently instituted pick-up recycling for plastics that cannot be reused by our warehouse.
Thank You for shopping
with Childtherapytoys.com.
We look forward to serving you
for many years. Please feel free to
contact us at toys@childtherapytoys.com.
This is a fun technique by Jacqueline Swank, found in Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children and Teens, edited by Liana Lowenstein. I’ve adapted it to be used with the Play Therapy Chalkboard, which I developed.
After reading a book about self-esteem, playing a game about self-esteem, or discussing self-esteem, clients are encouraged to draw a picture of themselves. In my session with Hillary we read I Like Myself, and then she drew a picture of herself on the chalkboard.
After finishing the drawing on the Play Therapy Chalkboard, Hillary was asked to make positive statements about herself, which I wrote down on post-its. When finished, I read each one aloud and Hillary posted each one on her drawing. I then took a picture of the drawing with the post-its on it and sent the picture home with Hillary.
During this activity, therapists can talk about how to make positive self-statements when upset or discouraged, using specific examples from the child’s life.
This activity can also be used in small group and family sessions, with members writing down positive statements about each other.
The therapist should adjust how active they are in generating positive and affirming statements based on the skill of the client to identify and accept their own positive characteristics.