The Many Ways Children Communicate Through Play

Children are constantly communicating, but not always with words.

Before children have the language to explain fear, grief, anger, or confusion, they express their inner world through play. In play therapy, toys, art materials, and imaginative scenarios become the child’s voice. When we learn to truly observe play, we begin to understand what children are telling us about their experiences, emotions, and needs.

There are many ways children communicate through play.

Symbolic Play: Saying Big Things in Small Ways

In symbolic play, children use toys and objects to represent people, feelings, and experiences from their lives.

Examples might include:

• A doll that is repeatedly left alone or forgotten

• Animals that hide, fight, or protect each other

• A superhero who must rescue everyone

  
  

These symbols create emotional distance, allowing children to explore difficult experiences without being overwhelmed. The toy becomes a stand-in for something much bigger.

In play therapy, therapists carefully observe these patterns over time, honoring the meaning that emerges rather than rushing to interpret it.

Role Playing: Exploring Power, Safety, and Control

Through role play, children often try on different roles and identities:

• Becoming the parent, teacher, or authority figure

• Acting as the rescuer, protector, or “boss”

• Re-creating scenarios where they now feel in charge

  
  

For children who have felt powerless, scared, or unheard, role play offers a way to reclaim control and explore what safety might feel like. It is a form of emotional rehearsal, practicing new ways of being before they are ready to live them out in the real world.

Art as Expression: When Feelings Don’t Have Words

Art provides children with a powerful, nonverbal way to express emotions that may be confusing or hard to name.

Children may:

• Use strong colors or heavy pressure

• Tear paper, scribble, or paint quickly

• Create repetitive or intense imagery

  
  

This is not about artistic skill; it is about expression and regulation. Art allows feelings to move from the inside to the outside in a contained, meaningful way.

Before children can talk about their emotions, they often need to feel safe expressing them physically and creatively.

Play and Attunement: Feeling Seen and Understood

What makes play therapy different from simply playing is the presence of a trained, attuned therapist.

The therapist:

• Tracks themes and patterns in play

• Reflects emotions without judgment

• Allows the child to lead

• Provides safety, consistency, and understanding

  
  

Sometimes, the most powerful moments happen when a child realizes:

“Someone sees what I’m trying to say.”

Why This Matters

When adults push children to explain feelings before they are ready, children may:

• Shut down

• Act out behaviorally

• Feel misunderstood or unheard

• Carry emotions they cannot organize

  
  

When we honor play as communication, children learn something essential:

• Their feelings make sense

• They don’t need perfect words to be understood

• Healing can happen at their own pace

  
  

Play therapy sends a powerful message: “You are allowed to express yourself in the way that feels safest to you.”

Honoring Play Therapy Week

During International Play Therapy Week, we celebrate the profound role play has in helping children communicate, process, and heal. Play is not a break from learning or therapy, it is often the path toward understanding, connection, and emotional growth.

Play is how children tell their stories when words aren’t ready yet.