Supporting Language Through Play: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Play is often called the work of childhood—and for good reason! It’s how children explore their world, build relationships, and most importantly, develop communication skills.

As speech pathologists, we use play every day in our sessions because it’s a natural, motivating, and developmentally appropriate way to teach language. And the good news? You can do it at home too.

How Does Play Support Language?

Through play, children learn to:

• Use words to express their wants, needs, and ideas

• Understand and follow directions

• Build vocabulary

• Learn turn-taking, eye contact, and other social skills

• Develop problem-solving and flexible thinking

Different types of play help different language skills emerge—so it’s important to match your support to your child’s stage of play.

Types of Play & How to Support Them

1. Exploratory Play

Babies learn through their senses—banging, mouthing, shaking.🗣️ Try: “You’re shaking the rattle! Shake shake!” – model action words.

2. Functional Play 

Using toys as they are intended (e.g., rolling a car, stacking blocks).🗣️ Try: “Push the car! Beep beep!” – model verbs and sound effects.

3. Pretend Play 

Feeding dolls, pretending to cook, superhero play.🗣️ Try: “Oh no, the baby is hungry! Let’s give her a bottle.”

4. Constructive Play

Building with blocks, puzzles, drawing.🗣️ Try: “You built a tower! Let’s make it taller.” – use descriptive words.

5. Cooperative Play 

Playing with others—sharing, negotiating, and creating stories together.🗣️ Try: Support turn-taking, emotions, and perspective-taking through group games.

💬 Tips for Building Language During Play

Follow your child’s lead: Let them choose the toy and activity

Get face-to-face: So they can see your facial expressions and mouth movements

Pause and wait: Give them time to respond

Repeat and expand: Add one or two words to what your child says

Avoid quizzing: Focus on connection, not correction

🏠 Easy Play Ideas at Home

• Tea party with stuffed animals

• Playdough kitchen

• Block town with roads and vehicles

• “Rescue mission” with figurines and flashlights

• Mini obstacle course with action words (“jump”, “crawl”, “run”)

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💡 Final Thought

You don’t need fancy toys or long hours. Just a few minutes of meaningful, language-rich play every day can make a big difference.

So next time you sit down with your child to play, remember: you’re not “just playing” you’re building brains and language at the same time.

Fiona Tam - Speech Pathologist at Kids Inspired