Play is the language of childhood. It’s how children express themselves – symbolically, imaginatively, and often without words.
Best Play Therapy Tips Offered by Kathy Eugster
Play is the language of childhood—it’s how children express emotions, work through challenges, and connect with the world around them. But what happens when your child turns away from your attempts to play? Or when you’re unsure how to join them in a way that truly builds connection?
In this guide, retired certified play therapist Kathy Eugster shares some of the best play therapy tips to help parents and caregivers create meaningful, healing moments with their children. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, or educator, these gentle strategies can strengthen your bond, support emotional growth, and bring more joy and trust into your relationship—one moment of intentional play at a time.
Meet Kathy Eugster. She is a retired Certified Play Therapist with over 20 years of experience helping children ages 3–12 and their families. A recipient of the Monica Herbert Award from the Canadian Association for Play Therapy for contributing to the field of Play Therapy in Canada, she brings both professional training and personal wisdom as a therapist, mother and now grandmother.
Today, her mission is to share what she’s learned – to help parents, caregivers and professionals who work with children between the ages of 3 and 12 years rediscover the joy and healing power of play. Her website, blog, and gentle, practical book, Play Skills for Parents: Connecting With Your Child Through Play, are filled with bite-sized tools to help parents and caregivers feel comfortable communicating through play.
If you’re struggling to connect with your child – especially in the face of big feelings or challenging behaviour – you don’t need more discipline charts or screen-time rules. You don’t even need more play. You just need different play. And Kathy’s book walks you through how to access these playful skills within you as your child’s adult – gently, and step by step.
“Even 3 to 5 minutes of focused, one-on-one play with your child – with no distractions, just your full attention – can make a huge difference in building those special connections during playtime. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing less but doing it with intention.”
Kathy Eugster
Whether you are a biological parent or any other caregiver, discover how parent-child play can support every child’s healthy development while strengthening your relationship with them.
Some good reasons to check out Kathy’s Best Play Therapy Tips:
- You are struggling to find time to connect in positive ways with your child
- You are unsure of or don’t know how to play or connect positively with your child
- You are frustrated that your child is rejecting your efforts to engage and connect in a meaningful way
- Your child is dealing with big or strong emotions or you feel anxious about your child’s out-of-control behaviour
- You have been working with a professional who recommends more time spent with your child
VIEW OUR INTERVIEW WITH KATHY HERE!
Thank you again Kathy for taking the time to share your amazing Best Play Therapy Tips with us for parents, caregivers and also for professionals who work with children between the ages of 3 to 12 years old. As an early childhood educator, I have found many of your resources valuable for tips on how to approach play with young children in the classroom.
Thank you once again, Kathy, for generously sharing your insightful Best Play Therapy Tips with us! As an early childhood educator, I have found your resources incredibly valuable in guiding me on how to engage in play with young children in the classroom. Kathy’s book offers a gentle and step-by-step approach to help parents and caregivers tap into these playful skills, fostering healthy development and building stronger relationships with their children. Whether you’re a biological parent or caregiver, exploring parent-child play can be a wonderful way to connect and support your child’s growth.
Thank you again, Kathy, for taking the time to share your amazing Best Play Therapy Tips with us. I have found your resources incredibly valuable in guiding me on how to engage in play with young children in the classroom. Kathy’s book offers a gentle and step-by-step approach to help parents and caregivers tap into these playful skills, fostering healthy development and building stronger relationships with their children.
BOOK REVIEWS!
BOOK REVIEW by Lorrie Holmes
I absolutely loved this book as both a parent and also as an Early Childhood Educator. There is so much information – including samples to follow – on every aspect of how to connect with your children through play. I would say it almost reads as a manual, it’s so informative and comprehensive! I found it especially helpful to remind me to always keep in mind when to allow the child to direct their play, and when to step in – if only for a moment – to direct the play in order to offer support and a possibly needed intervention for safety purposes – and when to use appropriate parent-directed play. I also found it very helpful to learn when I need to step back and allow the child to direct the play and sometimes this isn’t as clear as you might imagine. I would highly recommend every parent/caregiver and early learning professional to read this book and take it all in, chapter by chapter!
