@Kathryn Barbash, PsyD love this article you did on play! I had an interesting experience with one of my daughters where she was refusing to hold my hand in Peking lots (this was when she was 3 years old) and would constantly pull away. I consulted with my own therapist about the situation, and she recommended I try a play-based approach where we took her dolls and enacted a scenario when mommy doll and girl doll were shopping and walking in a parking lot, crossing streets etc. now this was a favorite doll of my daughter’s so she was totally invested in the game. We acted out the girls doll holding mommy’s hand to stay safe, and mommy doll also empowered little girls doll to help decide whether it was safe to cross a street, etc. etc.
Long story short: after this game and modeling with toys, my daughter started holding my hand. It was an amazingly effective solution for behavior change!
@Kathryn Barbash, PsyD love this article you did on play! I had an interesting experience with one of my daughters where she was refusing to hold my hand in Peking lots (this was when she was 3 years old) and would constantly pull away. I consulted with my own therapist about the situation, and she recommended I try a play-based approach where we took her dolls and enacted a scenario when mommy doll and girl doll were shopping and walking in a parking lot, crossing streets etc. now this was a favorite doll of my daughter’s so she was totally invested in the game. We acted out the girls doll holding mommy’s hand to stay safe, and mommy doll also empowered little girls doll to help decide whether it was safe to cross a street, etc. etc.
Long story short: after this game and modeling with toys, my daughter started holding my hand. It was an amazingly effective solution for behavior change!
Play is a natural way to communicate with kids, it can be so powerful.