RESEARCH FILE

What Play Can Support as Children Grow

What do pediatric and public-health sources actually say about play, movement, and playing with other children? Here is what they say, where they stop, and what you can do with it this afternoon.

The short answer

Major pediatric and public-health bodies treat play as important for children, not as a break from the important things. They say play with caring adults and with other children supports social, emotional, language, and thinking skills, and that children need to move a lot, every day, in amounts that change with age.

They do not say that any single game, material, or product delivers those outcomes. Neither do we. This page quotes the sources directly, says where each one stops, and points to games you can set up today.

What the sources say

Play with adults and with other children

The American Academy of Pediatrics published a clinical report on play in the journal Pediatrics in 2018. Its summary states that "developmentally appropriate play with parents and peers is a singular opportunity to promote the social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain." [AAP, 2018] The same report says play "supports the formation of the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships with all caregivers that children need to thrive." [AAP, 2018]

The Academy's guide for parents, last updated in May 2023, says play "can improve children's abilities to plan, organize, get along with others and regulate emotions." [AAP HealthyChildren, 2023] On pretend play, it says this kind of play "lets young children experiment with different social roles and learn to cooperate." [AAP HealthyChildren, 2023]

How play changes with age

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University publishes play handouts, dated December 2022, organized by age from 6 months through 17 years. It explains that "The activities for younger children are designed for adults to engage in with children." [Harvard, 2022] For older ages, the activities are designed so adults can step back as children play more often with peers. [Harvard, 2022]

The practical reading: a toddler's play partner is usually you. An older child's play partner is increasingly another child, and your job shifts toward setting things up and getting out of the way.

Joining other children

The CDC's milestone list for age 3, dated May 2026, includes "Notices other children and joins them to play." [CDC, 2026] The CDC defines its milestones this way: "Developmental milestones are things most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age." [CDC, 2026]

That definition matters. A milestone describes what most children do by an age. It is not a deadline, and one item on a list does not describe your child.

Daily movement, by age

The numbers differ by age, and the sources differ too, so they are kept separate here.

Ages 1 to 2 (World Health Organization, April 2019): "at least 180 minutes in a variety of types of physical activities at any intensity," spread throughout the day, and "more is better." [WHO, 2019]

Ages 3 to 4 (World Health Organization, April 2019): at least 180 minutes, "of which at least 60 minutes is moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, spread throughout the day." [WHO, 2019]

Ages 3 to 5 (CDC, December 2025): children "should be physically active throughout the day for growth and development." [CDC, 2025]

Ages 6 to 17 (CDC, December 2025): "60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each day," including vigorous activity, muscle-strengthening activity, and bone-strengthening activity, each on at least 3 days a week. [CDC, 2025]

These are totals across a whole day. They are not one continuous session, and the 60-minute figure for school-age children is not the right number for a one-year-old. The CDC also says "Fun activities can be anything your child enjoys, either structured or unstructured," and gives the examples of "walking, playing chase, or riding bikes." [CDC, 2024]

Outdoors

The Academy's guide to outdoor play, last updated in April 2026, says "Children play harder outdoors than indoors and they need daily opportunities to do so." [AAP HealthyChildren, 2026] It also says "Playing outside promotes curiosity, creativity and critical thinking and focus." [AAP HealthyChildren, 2026] The Academy's general play guide adds that outdoor play "lets children use all their senses to build skills like spatial awareness and balance." [AAP HealthyChildren, 2023]

What these findings do not establish

This section is as important as the one above it.

• None of it is evidence about TeeterTop. These sources study and describe play in general. No authority quoted here has reviewed, tested, or endorsed TeeterTop, this website, or any game on it.
• Balancing objects is not the same as body balance. The Academy's statement about balance is about outdoor play and a child's own body. Stacking and steadying objects is a different activity. Nothing quoted here says that balancing things on things improves how a child stands, walks, or moves.
• A general finding is not a personal prediction. "Play supports social skills" describes children broadly. It does not say what one game will do for one child.
• A short game does not meet a movement guideline. Ten minutes of play is ten minutes. The daily totals are much larger and add up across the whole day.
• Milestones are not diagnoses. A child who does not match one line on a list has not been assessed by that list.
• Play does not need a product. Nothing in these sources says a child needs a special item, a kit, or a structured lesson. Time, attention, another person, and ordinary materials are what they describe.

What you can do with this today

Pick by who the play partner is likely to be.

Mostly with an adult (toddlers and young preschoolers)

Sit on the floor and place large soft things on a low base together. Name what happens. The "Stays or Slides" idea in Balancing Things on Things is written for this.

With an adult setting up and children taking turns (preschool and early school age)

Give two children one shared build. Start with these.

With children running it (older children)

Hand over the materials and the goal, agree on the safety rules, and step back.

Fitting it to your household

• Short on time: ten minutes before dinner counts. Choose a game with almost no setup.
• No yard: every outdoor idea on this site fits a small paved area or a park. See Get Outside and Play Together.
• Different abilities in one group: choose games where pointing, rolling, placing, or judging are full ways to take part, and offer those options to everyone at the start.
• Bad weather: move object play and building indoors onto the floor, and leave throwing games for another day.
• A child who prefers to watch: watching is participating. Offer a job at the edge and leave the door open. More on this is in How to Help Kids Start Playing With Other Kids.

Materials and safe use

Use large, light, soft, or blunt objects. An adult handles all cutting and removes staples, straps, plastic, and shipping labels from boxes. Keep small or loose pieces away from children under three. No one climbs or stands on cardboard, and soft objects are thrown at targets, never at people. The full guidance is in Play Safety.

Questions parents ask

• What Is Parallel Play, and at What Age Do Children Start Playing Together?

Editorial notes

These are our notes, not research findings.

• We chose sources that publish for families or clinicians and that state their dates. Where a source gives a number, we quote it instead of rounding or restating it.
• We use the words "supports" and "offers opportunities" on purpose. Where a source uses stronger language, we put it in quotation marks so you can see it is theirs.
• If you have a specific concern about your child's development, a pediatric clinician who knows your child is the right source, not a website.

References and review dates

Every source cited on this page is listed with its publisher, date, and link in Research and Sources. We read each one on October 11, 2026. We plan to check them again every six months, and sooner if a publisher updates its guidance.

• R01: American Academy of Pediatrics, clinical report in Pediatrics, 2018.
• R02: American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, "The Power of Play," last updated May 3, 2023.
• R03: CDC, "Child Activity: An Overview," December 4, 2025.
• R04: CDC, "Making Physical Activity Part of a Child's Life," August 7, 2024.
• R05: World Health Organization, news release, April 24, 2019.
• R07: Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, "Brain-Building Through Play," December 14, 2022.
• R08: American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, "Playing Outside: Why It's Important for Kids," last updated April 6, 2026.
• R09: CDC, "Milestones by 3 Years," May 15, 2026.

By TeeterTop editorial. Updated October 11, 2026.