Category: Babies & Early Childhood (0-5)
A playful, evidence-informed approach to maths education
30 May 2024
How PEDAL research can help a government committed to improving maths outcomes to think more creatively about how to achieve this goal.
Listening to children with empathy – the ethical case
30 May 2024
In this piece, Soizic le Courtois argues that advice given to parents should draw on scientific evidence about children's subjective wellbeing, children's perspectives and the contribution of any practice to children's development and outcomes. We should also be attuned to our empathetic responses to children, which can give us clues about the "right" thing to do.
Why and how do healthcare professionals use play in clinical practice?
1 March 2024
We explored what healthcare professionals in different roles and different countries understood to be important and useful about the role of play in paediatric practice.
Do educational programmes for healthcare professionals focus on play?
1 March 2024
This literature review looked at the evidence to understand how educational programmes for healthcare professionals include the use of play. It found that play is not consistently or systematically integrated into medical education.
Supporting play for neurodivergent children
5 December 2023
In this PEDAL Conference 2023 recording, we hear from Kerry Murphy (Goldsmiths, University of London) and Dr Gina Gomez de la Cuesta and Abi Dodson (Play Included) share their expertise on play and its significance in diverse child development.
The therapeutic powers of play: play therapy as a mental health treatment
5 December 2023
In this PEDAL Conference 2023 recording, Siobhán Prendiville (Children's Therapy Centre in Ireland) talks about the therapeutic powers of play and highlights how well Play Therapy sits within a neurosequential approach to psychotherapy.
Prisons, hospitals and schools: challenges and opportunities introducing play in different settings
5 December 2023
In this PEDAL Conference 2023 recording, Dr Paulina Pérez-Duarte (PEDAL), Dina Fajardo (PEDAL) & Mercedes Castañeda (Reinserta) explore and advocate for the use of play in challenging settings, as well as those opportunities where play can enable a powerful change in children’s mental health.
Public health campaigns: supporting infant mental health through encouraging playful interactions
5 December 2023
In this PEDAL Conference 2023 recording, Margaret Gallagher (NSPCC) and Alex Spragg (Better Start Bradford) talk about how two public health campaigns supported infant mental health through encouraging playful interactions.
A future for the world’s children? Play as the basis of a new paradigm for a world on fire
5 December 2023
In this PEDAL Conference 2023 keynote lecture, Professor Mark Tomlinson (Stellenbosch University) discusses the important role of play in building minds and brains in the future that are built for creativity, adaptation, collaboration, connectedness and resilience.
A vision for happy, healthy childhoods in the UK
5 December 2023
In this PEDAL Conference 2023 keynote lecture, Helen Hayes (Shadow Children's Minister and Labour MP forDulwich & West Norwood) shares Labour's vision for childhood.