Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group

register your interest below!

The Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group consists of 7 weekly sessions, facilitated by a HMC Play Therapist. In this course, parents are taught practical and “hands-on” play strategies for use within the home that are aimed at the developmental level of their child. Parents will be taught ways to attune and emotionally connect with their child through play, expand their child’s pretend play capabilities and facilitate their ability to navigate social situations in play.

Developed by Emirates Professor Karen Stagnitti, Learn to Play is a play-based intervention that aims to support children in being able to spontaneously initiate pretend play. The Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) short course has been developed as a home-based intervention that can help parents better understand and connect with their children’s play and provide ongoing support across their child’s development.

Learn more about the group below!

What is play?

Broadly speaking, play is an activity that is engaged in for enjoyment rather than for an intended, or goal-driven, purpose or outcome. Play gives children the opportunity to experiment and develop essential cognitive skills like problem-solving, reasoning, planning and understanding of language and symbols. In addition, the physical motor patterns involved in different types of play can support children to refine gross and fine motor skills.  

Play can also help children learn to regulate their emotions because it provides opportunities to explore managing joy, delight, sadness, anger and pride. Play with others can also increase children’s social skills, giving them the opportunity to practise social scripts through role play. By taking on the role of another person, children have practise in learning to consider the thoughts and opinions of others.  Social play also helps children learn to regulate their emotions in response to conflict with others and work co-operatively to achieve common goals. 

Why is pretend play so important?

Children engage in many different types of play (e.g rough and tumble play, gross motor play, messy play). However, one type of play that is thought to be especially crucial for children’s development is known as pretend play. Pretend play occurs when children use their imagination to impose meaning on what they are doing.

For example, a teddy bear might be stuck up a “mountain” – which is made from a sheet and chairs. The child is imposing meaning on the sheet covering the chairs and using their imagination to see the chair as the mountain. The teddy is also “alive” in the sense of the play (an animated being that needs to be saved or rescued) rather than simply being a stuffed toy with no further meaning. This type of play scene forces the child to think abstractly beyond the literal function of toys. Pretend play is conceptualised as a developmental skill. Some children may have difficulties in engaging in pretend play, just as some children have difficulties with fine or gross motor skills or speech.  

Who can benefit from the Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group?

The course is designed for all parents. It may be of particular relevance to parents of children who have a developmental delay, learning disorder, autism, ADHD, social anxiety or those who have general difficulties initiating play either independently or with other children.

What age should my child be before I participate in the Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group?

Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group is designed for parents and carers of children aged 1-8 years old. The child must have basic pretend play skills appropriate for their age, e.g., playing peekaboo as a 1-year-old.

Reduced fees may apply for parents who are attending to support more than one of their children. Each child will need to complete a play assessment to tailor information to the child.

How is Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) run?

The Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group is most useful when conducted face-to-face, offering access to our Prospect clinic and the facilitator's toys. The course provides practical skills that can be applied daily at home, ensuring continuous engagement with your child's development.

What if I’m a new client?

If you are new to HMC or play therapy, this course is a perfect opportunity to learn skills that can be practised at home every day, rather than for 1 hour per week in an appointment. Led by a Play Therapist, you'll discover how to engage your child in pretend play and act as a Play Therapist would in individual sessions.

To get started, register your interest at the bottom of the page. A screening phone call with a HMC Therapy Assistant will determine suitability, followed by a play assessment conducted by a HMC Play Therapist. If suitable for the group, you will be invited to join the group program and receive the parent handbook after full payment has been made.

How much does it cost?

The intake includes a play assessment plus a brief report on your child's pretend-play skills. This is required to ensure that strategies suggested during the course can be tailored specifically to your child’s developmental needs. NDIS clients may be able to use Improved Daily Living funding, at $193.99 per hour, to pay for the intake. Please contact us for more information about fees.

Our Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group includes 7x 2-hour sessions. NDIS clients may be able to use Improved Daily Living funding. The cost depends on a number of factors including how many participants are in the group. Please contact us for more information about fees.

Your partner can join the sessions at no extra cost.

The full course cost is payable in full to secure your place in the group. Please be aware that the full fee is non-refundable within 7 days of the group start date. NDIS participants may be able to use NDIS funding for the Learn to Play with Parents (LPP) Group, depending on whether this group is aligned with their plan goals.

How do I register?

Click the button below to express your interest in the group. For additional questions, contact us via email at admin@healthymindcentre.com.au or call 03 6388 9229.

Reference of Learn to Play to Professor Karen Stagnitti copyright 2022