Therapy Through PLAY and Relationships

16/08/2025

15/08/2025

"We've done some research and we know that anxiety actually predicts quality of life more than a child's level of autism," What we tend to see is children with anxiety and autism dropping off from what they could achieve as they get older as the demands of school grow.

"If you have anxiety, you have less brain space to deal with the academic demands growing or the social demands growing."

Researchers believe the repercussions may extend into adulthood, with anxiety preventing some people from reaching their full potential.

"They are often under-employed and take low-skilled jobs with fewer hours … because their anxiety impacts what they can manage to deal with in a week,"

Queensland researchers, who say anxiety is preventing many children on the autism spectrum from flourishing at school, are seeking families for a trial to reduce anxiety in pre-schoolers.

01/08/2025

16/07/2025

"Play and depression may be opposite sides of a coin," says Dr. Jaak Pansepp, Baily Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being at Washington State University. He explains how "real play" is essential to a child's development."

"Play and depression may be opposite sides of a coin," says Dr. Jaak Pansepp, Baily Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being at Washington State University. He ex...

12/07/2025

The Children First Aid information sessions will provide parents and carers with simple first aid and resuscitation skills. All sessions are suitable for parents and guardians and run monthly at the Glen Eira Townhall 👌

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12/07/2025

"Using CBCL scores, the researchers developed a predictive model that identified maltreated children with 90.6% accuracy and 96.6% specificity.The study also uncovered critical timing patterns. For instance, abuse or neglect at the age of five was particularly linked to withdrawal and thought problems, while maltreatment between ages five and seven was more associated with somatic complaints—physical symptoms like headaches or stomach-aches without medical cause.
Notably, the type of abuse also mattered; physical abuse was more connected to behavioral problems and somatic complaints, while emotional abuse was linked to anxiety, depression, and obsessive thoughts"

Childhood maltreatment leaves profound and often unseen scars, affecting mental health, physical well-being, and social development long into adulthood.

11/07/2025

"Children understand something we adults often forget, that the capacity for love, pain, and joy isn't exclusively human.
The implications extend far beyond pet relationships. If children naturally possess these ethical qualities, their contributions to discussions about global citizenship, environmental stewardship, and social justice could "elevate our understanding" rather than simply receive our instruction."

From a recent conversation on the Dr Play podcast between host, Dr. Kate Renshaw and Rachel Parker, founder of Global Play Lab

08/07/2025

"A new meta-analysis links childhood emotional abuse and neglect to reduced trust in one’s bodily signals, highlighting the long-term mental health risks.
Key Facts:
Body Trust Eroded: Emotional abuse and neglect are linked to reduced confidence in interpreting bodily signals.
Mental Health Risks: Impaired body trust may contribute to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
Hidden Harm: Emotional maltreatment remains under-recognized compared to physical and sexual abuse."

A new meta-analysis links childhood emotional abuse and neglect to reduced trust in one’s bodily signals, highlighting the long-term mental health risks.

12/06/2025

When we think about early stress and trauma we think about the developing brain. How about the immune system and its impact on the adult health?

This video explores how early life adversity imprints lasting changes on both brain structure and immune function, elevating long-term risk for psychiatric c...

10/06/2025

"International Day of Play is a time to celebrate the power of play. A time to raise awareness about how essential play is to every child's development and well- being. And a time to come together and make sure that every child is able to fulfil their right to play.We are calling on governments, businesses and other stakeholders to:
Scale up services, including parenting programmes, that promote play and attachment. Ensure every child has access to safe, inclusive, and well-maintained play areas."

https://www.playaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/State%20of%20Play_final.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawK1epFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFSQ3RGQVBENk5mcnhUZUZqAR4GEoAMdnQT2ZUY4rPkoENXLwIlzeIipr4LzJmEZMzuuBaHZvkUd8ULytw7Kw_aem_qONx1KjhJcnwEkbEHcGw8Q

This video is on International Day Of Play 2025 and the theme for 2025 is Choose Play, Every Day.Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube...

09/06/2025

"Previous studies have shown that singing can calm infants more effectively than speech, reduce distress, and even influence physiological markers of arousal. Even lullabies from different cultures and in unfamiliar languages could still effectively soothe babies. What hadn’t been clear, though, was whether these short-term benefits could build up over time.... does this instinctive behavior have measurable long-term benefits for infants’ emotional well-being? A new study published in the journal Child Development suggests it does. In a randomized trial, researchers found that encouraging parents to sing more frequently led to sustained increases in infant mood, even after the intervention ended."

Researchers found that when caregivers sing more often to their infants, babies become noticeably happier over time. The randomized trial used real-time mood tracking and showed that even a brief music enrichment intervention can shape emotional development in infancy.

06/06/2025

This study was done on adult brains; this would be the same for a child living in an authoritarian environment.

"Obeying orders dulls our brain's sense of moral responsibility, regardless of military or civilian status. A new fMRI study reveals how coercion reshapes moral decision-making."

A new brain imaging study reveals that the sense of agency—our feeling of being responsible for our actions—decreases when we follow orders, regardless of whether we are civilians or military officers.