What is the secret of this playroom, I can hear you asking? Let's explore together what is behind the door of the playroom?
We, play therapists, have a sentence that we often say; Play is the child's language. This language serves to express themselves, just like the language we use with words. As you know, words are actually symbols. For example, water; It is the name we give to the drinkable, transparent liquid, which is one of our basic needs for survival and is formed by bonding two hydrogens to one oxygen. The words of the game language are toys. Movements made with toys form sentences. An ongoing play theme tells us a story. For example, a small baby; It is a creature that needs care, requires attention, cannot move, speak or walk on its own, and lives with its mother and father. Now let's create a game with this little baby. A girl comes, picks up the little baby, lays her in her arms and starts rocking him. What could he be saying with this movement? The little baby needs to be held and rocked, I put him to sleep. Then he puts the baby aside and looks in the cabinets, takes the toy banana, comes to the baby, presses the button on his belly, the baby starts to cry, takes the baby in his arms again and brings the banana to his mouth. The game, which starts with a toy, develops with movements and new toys and a theme is formed. The play in this example describes the theme of caregiving and nurturing. Here, the child takes on the role of a mother and plays the role of a mother who hears, understands and meets her baby's needs.
Toys are generally grouped into three categories;
Real life / Care and compassion
A playhouse, various furniture and human figures (such as mother, father, child, baby, grandfather, grandmother, disabled person) are indispensable parts of the playroom. Care toys such as girl/boy meat dolls, toy bottles, pacifiers, changing diapers, blankets, baby clothes, bathtubs, toy soap, and shampoo are included in the list. Household toys, kitchen set, food, repair kit, girl's decoration toys, toy pets, farm animals, sea animals, plants and trees are also found in the room.
Aggression;
Hacıyatmaz, dart board, sponge stick, plastic guns, wild animals
Creative / emotional expression;
Dry, pastel, watercolors, finger paint, dough, colored papers, glue, scissors, board, eraser, chalk, toy phone, fabric pieces
Finally, toys used for many purposes are also included. Puppets, costumes, masks, hats, professional toys; vehicles such as soldier, firefighter, doctor and police sets; In guided play, toys can be chosen according to the developmental needs of the child, such as cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, trains, ships, boats, construction equipment, legos, blocks, plushies, balls, musical instruments. Toys for areas such as attention, memory, learning, hand-eye coordination, language/vocabulary and gross motor may be required. Board games can be used in both techniques. Although box games are generally structured games, in undirected play the child can change the box games by making his own rules. In these games, especially the sense of competition, loss tolerance and impulsive behavior can be studied. Apart from all these, the therapist can increase the variety of toys according to the child's special needs. For example, a child experiencing health problems may need a doctor set with more variety.
Another point that should not be forgotten in the language of play is that toys can represent different meanings. A child may use a toy for a purpose other than its function. He can use an apple as a heart, turn a tea cup into a scoop, cut fruits and vegetables with a saw, and turn playing cards into money. While this shows us imagination and the ability to produce solutions, it also makes us think about what else it could mean.
One of the most important features about the playroom is that the room and toys are suitable for child safety. For example, toys with sharp or broken ends should be replaced with new ones. As I mentioned in the article about Play Therapy, missing toys from the room is an unpleasant situation for the child and negatively affects the therapy. One of the most distinctive features of play therapy is the repetition of play. For example, the child gives a name and character to the doll he chooses and plays with, and bases the game on it. Not being able to find the same toy on the next visit may frustrate the child, create stress and disrupt play.
At the beginning of the therapy process, the child who begins to become attached to the process may want to adopt a toy in the room and take it with him. He or she may also want to test the limits of the room and the therapist in this way. However, toys cannot be taken out of the room. When the child requests this, the therapist's duty is to express that he understands that he heard about it and explain the rule on this subject. The child can take with him a drawing he made in the room. However, the child may insist on taking toys and repeat this for several sessions. This may indicate that the child has difficulty in accepting boundaries, but it may also have other meanings. Bringing toys into the room depends on the child's wishes. The therapist does not give any guidance on this issue, but if the child requests to bring his own toys or brings them on his own, the therapist should think about the meaning of this.
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