The Role of Play in Communication Development

If you take one message from this blog, let it be this:

Play with your child. Talk about what they’re doing. Enjoy the moment together.

Communication grows from connection—and play is where that connection begins.

Play isn’t just for fun! In the UK, organisations such as the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the National Literacy Trust emphasise that play is central to how children learn to understand and use language. It is through play that children explore the world, build relationships, and practise the foundations of communication—long before they ever say their first words.

If you imagine language and communication development like a tower of building blocks, play and interaction are at the bottom. If we forget about that and try to pull out that bottom jenga block… we risk knocking down the rest of the tower!

In this blog, we’ll focus on why play is so powerful and different ways you can play at home to support your child’s communication skills.

Why Play Matters?

1. Play is how children explore and learn

When children play, it enables them to make connections and start understanding the world around them. During play children get the chance to see how objects and ideas link together and start to recognise that their actions can cause something to happen. This is called ‘cause and effect’. This idea is really important for language development in that children start to learn that when they communicate, you respond. 

2. Play builds social communication skills

When children are engaged in play, they are motivated, relaxed, and more open to communicating. When we capture children’s attention with something they are motivated and excited by, we start to develop joint attention and shared enjoyment. These skills form the building blocks for understanding language and developing friendships. Play also creates increased opportunities to practice skills like turn-taking. 

3. Play builds language 

Functional play such as stacking blocks, rolling cars and feeding a doll gives opportunities for adults to model action words (push, roll, eat,) and for children to develop their understanding of everyday routine. 

Creative play encourages descriptive language and supports emotional expression. 

Pretend play help children expand their imagination. Role play gives opportunities to explore ideas through other peoples perspectives as well as creating an opportunity for adults to model new words and sentences. Children get the opportunity to develop their storytelling and sequencing skills. 

How Adults Can Support Communication Through Play

1. Follow Your Child’s Lead

This is one of the most powerful things you can do. Rather than tell your child what to do during play, join in with what they are already doing. 

Try this:

• If your child is lining up cars, sit beside them and join in.

• If they’re spinning a lid, spin one too.

Why it works:  

• Children communicate more when they feel in control and engaged.

  
  

2. Comment, Don’t Question

When you ask your child questions like “What’s this?”, “What colour is that?” they know that you are testing them so they may choose not to respond. Or, they might not know the answer. When you become conscious of asking questions, you’ll realise you do it all the time! A good way to think about it is to try answering your question instead of asking it..

This approach is recommended in UK early years communication guidance.

Try this:

• Instead of “what are you doing?” you could say “you’re building a tower!”

• Instead of “what is the bear doing?” you could say “the teddy is sleeping”

• Instead of “what colour is it?” you could say “it’s a green snake”

Why it works:

• Reduces pressure to speak

• Models language naturally

• Helps children learn the words they need to talk about what they are doing

  
  

3. Keep Language Simple

“Get your raincoat and your school bag, sit down there and put your shoes on and i need you to be quick because we’re going to be late!” - this is very long sentence! All the child really needs to know is: “Time to go. Get your shoes. Bag. Coat”. It’s really important to think about how much language your child uses and try to match this (+  bit extra). When we bombard children with too much information in one go, it’s easy for them to get stuck!

Examples:

• If your child uses single words → you use 2–3 word phrases.

• If your child isn’t talking yet → use single words, gestures like pointing or showing them what you mean. 

  
  

4. Pause and Wait

Give your child time to respond—children often need longer processing time.

Try this:

• Hold up two toys and wait for your child to look, reach, or vocalise.

• Pause during a familiar song and wait for them to fill in the gap.

  
  

5. Use Repetition

Children learn through hearing the same words and phrases again and again.

Try this:

• Games like Peekaboo or Nursery Rhymes are very repetitive and predictable. Children often know these routines off by heart. Similarly with repetitive stories like ‘The Gruffalo'.

• Repeat key words during play (“car go”, “more bubbles”, “big tower”).

  
  

6. Create Opportunities to Communicate

Examples:

• Offer choices - “Do you want lorry or car?”

• Put favourite toys just out of reach so children have to ask for them 

• Pause before pushing the swing, before saying “go” in ‘Ready Steady Go’

These small moments encourage children to gesture, vocalise, or use words.

Play Ideas to Support Communication at Home

Here are some ideas for playing together at home:

1. Bubbles

Take turns blowing bubbles.

Try modelling

• “More”

• “Pop”

• “My turn”

• “Big”

• “Fall down”

  
  

2. Cars and Trains

This could be pretending to race cars, driving them down ramps or pretending to be a police officer in a police car.

Try modelling:

• “Oh no” 

• “Zooom” - pretend sounds are a really useful way to capture children’s interests 

• “Crash”

• “Driving fast/slow”

• “stop!”

  
  

3. Tea Set or Play Kitchen

Teddy Bear’s picnic is a classic. Supports pretend play and early conversation skills.

Try modelling:

• “Pour it”

• “Bear’s hungry”

• “Oh no we forgot the biscuits!”

• “More tea?”

• “All gone”

  
  

4. Books as Play

Books don’t have to be read. They can be described based on the pictures or acted out. 

Try:

• Letting your child turn pages and choose what to look at

• Talk about the characters in the story 

• Guess what might happen next 

  
  

5. Messy Play

Shaving foam, water, sand, rice, playdough.

Try modelling:

• Describing words (“wet”, “squishy”, “cold”)

• Action words (“mix”, “squeeze”, “pour”)

• Sensory regulation

  
  

6. Outdoor Play

Exploring nature and movement are really good ways to support children’s engagement. This could be games like chase. It could be going on a nature hunt or doing an obstacle course. 

Try:

• Turn taking 

• Matching pictures of nature to nature in real life (i.e. find a spider web, fallen leaf, muddy footprint etc.

  
  

Supporting Children with Speech, Language or Communication Needs (SLCN)

Children with SLCN may find play more challenging, especially social play. 

Here are some ways to help:

1. Let your child lead. 

Do what your child wants to do and what they are motivated in. This might mean playing with toys in a different way from what you expect. Or repeating actions that your child finds fun that you might not think of as play.

2. Keep play sessions short and positive

Aim for a few minutes at a time, especially if your child finds interaction difficult.

4. Celebrate all communication

This includes:

• Eye gaze

• Gestures

• Pointing

• Sounds

• Facial expressions

  
  

Final Thoughts

Play is one of the most powerful tools we have to support children’s communication. It is natural, enjoyable, and accessible to every family. Whether your child is babbling, using single words, or telling full stories, play provides endless opportunities to build their skills.

As the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists emphasises, communication happens everywhere—and the right environment can make all the difference. By following your child’s lead, modelling language, and creating playful moments of connection, you are giving them the best possible foundation for communication, learning, and relationships.

If you take one message from this blog, let it be this:

Play with your child. Talk about what they’re doing. Enjoy the moment together.

Communication grows from connection—and play is where that connection begins