The Importance of Floor Time

More than just fun

As your child grows from infancy to school age, the importance of floor time goes far beyond just having fun. During floor time, your child will stretch his imagination and logical understanding of the world as he stages make-believe games and locks horns with you over rules. He'll use gestures and words to express his needs and to explore a broad range of emotions, from exhilaration to anger. He will also hone his physical skills as his muscles strengthen and grow.

You will be supporting your child's intellectual, emotional, and physical development through your interactive play. You can promote all this growth by simply following his lead and joining in! As you playfully relate to your child, incorporating as many of the six fundamental learning experiences as he has mastered up to the present time, you'll be helping him to calm down or become energized, to engage lovingly in shared fun, to initiate and respond to information by using gestures and language, and to build ideas and learn to think through imaginative exchanges and debates.

You'll also be making a special effort to tailor your interactions to his unique developmental profile. For instance, you'll be sure to be especially soothing if your child is sensitive or finicky, or animated if he's more laid-back. Because you'll be interacting with him in such a highly personal way, he'll feel increasingly secure and comfortable.

Admittedly, being an active, engaging partner when your child says, "Play with me!" isn't always easy. In a perfect world, floor time would happen spontaneously. For many families today, however, floor time has to be penciled into a mom's or dad's day planner. It is therefore important to set aside special times each day for play. Choose times that are convenient for you. It's important to reserve at least 20 to 30 minutes for each floor-time interaction with your child. A number of five-minute one-on-ones here and there do not equal floor time. You will both enjoy more and accomplish more when you give your relationship, playtime, and dialogue more time to develop. This special time with your child will allow you to reaffirm the intimate rhythm and sense of connectedness that the two of you have established and continue to nurture.

As our culture becomes more impersonal and technology-driven, our workdays lengthen and our free time seems to evaporate. With many families being supported by two breadwinners who often have demanding jobs, traditional patterns of nurturing have undergone a sea change. It's expecting a great deal of even the most devoted day-care provider to zero in on your child's unique play and learning style, the way you are motivated to do.

During floor time, you'll be getting down on your child's level, joining him in his world and on his terms. You'll be encouraging him to be the boss of all the drama that unfolds, and will follow his lead as an ever-willing sidekick—Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote.

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