Health Tip: Promote Play for Your Child

(HealthDay News) — Playtime is important to any child, especially one that is under pressure and stressed, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

Playtime is a brain-building activity that’s a healthy and necessary part of childhood development, the academy adds.

The group offers this advice to parents, doctors and educators:

  • Doctors should encourage playful learning by writing a “prescription for play” at every well-child visit in the first two years of life.
  • Play should start early and continue through a child’s development.
  • Educators, doctors and families should advocate for playful learning at school.
  • Parents and teachers should allocate time for daily physical activity.