In this blog, we’ll explore why play is essential for language development, the types of play that can boost your child’s vocabulary, and simple play ideas you can try at home. We’ll also discuss how play-based speech therapy can support your child’s progress.
What’s covered in this article:
As a parent, you want the best for your child, especially when it comes to their speech and language development. The good news? Play is one of the most natural and effective ways to support this. Let’s break down the importance of play on your child’s language skills and communication abilities, and how you can be part of their development.
Playtime is not just fun—it’s a valuable learning experience. Studies have shown that children who engage in play with conversation tend to develop larger vocabularies. When toddlers play, they hear new words, explore different sounds, and start using language to describe their actions. This helps them build a rich vocabulary in a natural, enjoyable way.
Through play, your child will learn to take turns, share, and express their feelings. I’ve often seen this in therapy sessions where two children are learning to play together. They practice saying, “My turn” or “Can I have that?”—simple phrases that are important for both social and language development. In my sessions, I encourage parents to facilitate these interactions during playdates or even when playing with siblings.
As a clinician, I often use pretend play to help children expand their language skills. Whether they’re pretending to be a doctor or setting up a tea party, children use language to express their ideas, explain what’s happening, and even negotiate roles. I’ve found that pretend play is especially useful for helping children who struggle with expressive language. It gives them the chance to use more complex sentences and experiment with new vocabulary in a creative, engaging way.
As a speech pathologist, I’ve seen how different types of play can nurture language development at every stage of your child’s growth. From infancy to pre-primary age, each kind of play offers unique opportunities for young children to explore new words, practice communication skills, and develop their social understanding. Here’s a breakdown of the types of play that are especially effective in boosting your child’s language skills:
Sensory play involves activities that stimulate a child’s senses—touch, smell, sight, sound, and sometimes even taste. Examples of sensory play include activities like playing with sand, water, or textured toys, as well as experimenting with soft and squishy materials like playdough. Sensory play benefits language development by introducing your child to new textures, sounds, and sensations, which helps build their descriptive vocabulary. For instance, when your child plays with water, you can talk about it being “cold,” “wet,” or “splashy,” which helps them understand and use words related to their sensory experiences.
As your toddler grows, social play —where toddlers engage directly with others—helps them practice important communication skills like turn-taking, sharing, and using language to solve problems. When children play together, whether it’s building with blocks or sharing toys, they practice using words like “Your turn!” or “Let’s build”. Research shows that children who engage in social play tend to develop better language skills because they’re constantly hearing and using new words in real-life situations.
Once your child enters pre-primary age, pretend play becomes an effective tool for expanding their language skills further. I often see children in my sessions using their imagination to act out roles they’ve observed, such as “playing house” or “going shopping”. Pretend play not only helps them practice vocabulary and structure sentences to explain their ideas but also builds their understanding of social interactions and problem-solving.
In my sessions, I’ve implemented activities like dancing, playing ball, or running around outdoors to help children practice following directions, listening to instructions, and interacting with others. Whether it’s a game of tag or catching a ball, these activities will help your child learn new action words (e.g. bounce, catch) and concept words (e.g. fast, slow) while staying active.
Constructive activities like magnetic blocks, connecting train tracks, or playdough can help your child learn important concepts like size, shape, and spatial relationships. For example, when your child builds blocks, they can learn words like “higher”, or “lower”. While constructive play teaches problem-solving skills, it will also help your child express their thoughts as they explain what they’re building or how something works.
Games with rules—like “Musical Chairs” or board games—are great for building social skills, patience and cooperation aside from language skills. These activities teach listening, following instructions, and turn-taking. They also encourage your child to ask questions like “Whose turn is it?”, “What do I do now?” and to provide instructions to their friends.
I often recommend to parents to use these games to teach good sportsmanship with phrases like “Great job!” or “Try again next time.” This will help your child to learn positive ways to interact, even when they win or lose. Research shows that games with rules improve children’s ability to communicate and cooperate.
I love recommending simple, fun activities that help build your child’s vocabulary. Here are some play ideas you can get started with:
Gather animal toys or soft toys, and create a pretend zoo or farm. Encourage your child to name the animals and describe their actions: “The cow is eating”, or “The lion is roaring”. This builds vocabulary around animals and actions, while sparking their imagination. You can also practice sounds or even use this as an opportunity to teach new words like “big”, “small”, or “fast”.
Bring play outside by creating a simple scavenger hunt in your backyard or at the park. Ask your child to find items based on descriptive words: “Can you find something smooth?” or “Let’s look for something green!” This not only teaches them new describing words but also helps them make connections between words with real-world objects.
Kids love pretend cooking! Set up a pretend kitchen or make real meals together. Ask your child to name the ingredients as you “cook” or have them describe the steps: “First, we chop the carrots, then we stir the soup.” This helps with sequencing and introduces food-related vocabulary in a playful way.
Reading is one of the most effective ways to boost vocabulary. After reading, act out the story together. Whether it’s pretending to be characters or making animal sounds, this interactive play teaches them new words from the story in a fun and memorable way.
Check out this Instagram post on simple, play ideas for 1-4 year olds.
Through play, children enhance their physical development by practicing coordination, their intellectual development through problem-solving, their social development by learning to share and take turns, and their emotional development by expressing and understanding feelings. At the same time, they’re building crucial language and literacy skills, learning new words, and practicing communication in a fun, natural way.
Children with language or developmental delays often struggle to expand their play. For example, instead of pretending to fly a toy airplane, they might focus intensely on spinning its wheels, missing the chance to practice language through imaginative play. Speech therapy can guide your child to understand how to engage with toys and objects more purposefully. For instance, in my clinical experience, a child who was hyper-focused on stacking cars learned, through play-based therapy, to expand his play by having the cars “talk” and race against each other. This approach naturally encourages more language use and interaction, transforming playtime into a learning opportunity.
Read this blog on how play is a prerequisite skill for adequate language development.
Research shows that when parents are actively involved in their child’s play, language development is significantly boosted. As a speech pathologist, I help parents learn how to engage with their children during play, modelling language, asking open-ended questions, and encouraging more interaction. This parent education is key to sustaining progress outside of therapy sessions.
One of the best things about play-based therapy is that it doesn’t feel like “work” for kids. Since the activities are based on what they enjoy, your child will stay motivated and engaged for longer. For example, if your child loves cars, we might use toy cars to encourage language—having them describe actions like “zoom,” “stop,” or “crash”. This keeps them interested and focused, which means more time spent learning new words and communication skills, without feeling like therapy is a chore.
Play is an important tool in supporting your child’s language development. It helps build vocabulary, social skills, and communication in a fun, natural way. As a parent, you play a key role in fostering this growth.
At Online Speechie, we specialise in play-based therapy and offer tailored strategies to support you and your child. Whether through in-person consultations or telehealth appointments, our team is here to support your child’s language journey. You can put in a referral here today!
Coplan, R. J., & Arbeau, K. A. (2009). The stresses of a “brave new world”: Shyness and school adjustment in kindergarten. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 22(4), 377-388.
Pellegrini AD. The Role of Play in Human Development. Oxford University Press; 2009.
Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P. (2011). The effectiveness of parent-implemented language interventions: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(3), 180–199.