The Importance of Play in the First 3 Years
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As parents, we all want the very best for our little ones. We read the books, do the late-night Googling, and spend ages trying to find the “right” toys to help them grow. But here’s the truth: one of the most powerful tools for your child’s development isn’t complicated (or expensive); it’s play!
From the very beginning, play is your child’s pathway to the world. It’s where language grows, where imagination ignites, and where focus begins to take shape. In the first three years of life, their brains are growing at a pace they’ll never experience again and play is the fuel that drives it.
As Maggie Dent, “the queen of common sense,” puts it:
"Play is the primary way that children learn to make sense of their world."
Brain-Boosting Play for Babies and Toddlers
Research from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University shows that in the first three years, a child’s brain forms more than a million neural connections every second. Pause for a second and let that sink in; every rattle shake, every block stacked, every little giggle with you is helping to build their brain and set the stage for a lifetime of learning.
When children play, they naturally develop important skills, including:
• Cause and Effect: Learning that actions have results.
• Problem-Solving: Figuring out how things fit together or work.
• Communication: Babbling, turn-taking, and responding to voices.
• Social & Emotional Skills: Sharing, waiting, and expressing feelings.
Play at Every Stage
0–12 Months: Play as Discovery
Babies are little explorers. They’re learning how their bodies work, what their hands can do, and how the world responds to them.
Sensory Play: From the sparkle of a mirror to the rattle of a toy, babies learn about the world through touch, sight, and sound. High-contrast images, different textures, and gentle sounds give little hands and eyes plenty to explore, turning every touch and look into a tiny adventure.
Object Permanence: Peek-a-boo teaches babies that things still exist even when they can’t see them. Toys with slots, boxes, or holes to drop objects into build on this skill and are perfect for curious little hands.
Cause and Effect: Babies are busy little scientists, learning that their actions make things happen. Toys where effort matches the outcome, like winding a Jack-in-the-box to make it pop, help them understand this. Overly flashy or noisy toys can overwhelm rather than teach.
12–24 Months: Play as Experimentation
Toddlers are natural scientists and are constantly testing, experimenting, and trying things over and over again. Play at this stage is all about discovering how the world works.
Problem-Solving Play: Puzzles, shape sorters, and stacking blocks give toddlers a chance to experiment and figure things out for themselves. Every twist, turn, or stack builds persistence, logic, and confidence.
Pretend Play Begins: Your toddler might start offering a sip of “tea” from an empty cup or rocking a doll to sleep. These small acts of imagination are the first sparks of empathy and creativity. Through pretend play, children step into someone else’s shoes, feeding, caring, or creating, and that’s where imagination really takes off.
Movement Play: Big-body movements like climbing, pushing prams, pulling wagons, crawling through tunnels, or running around the backyard build confidence and coordination. Toddlers are discovering what their bodies can do, and they love every minute!
Open-Ended Toys: Simple toys like blocks or nesting cups can be stacked, knocked down, rebuilt, or transformed into something entirely new. Open-ended toys grow with your child and offer fresh ways to explore and play at every stage.
24–36 Months: Play as Independence
By age two, children start using play to explore independence and show off their creativity. This stage is full of imagination and self-expression.
Pretend Play Blossoms: Pretend play moves beyond simple imitation into full-blown storytelling. Children create entire little worlds, hosting tea parties, saving the day as superheroes, or going on safari with toy animals. Costumes, kitchen sets, and figurines give them the tools to explore imagination, social roles, and cooperation in ways they couldn’t at the toddler stage.
Cooperative Play Begins: Children start moving beyond playing side by side with others (parallel play) to truly playing with them. They join in games, share ideas, take turns, and collaborate with friends and siblings, learning social skills, empathy, and teamwork along the way.
Language Skills Take Off: Singing songs, having pretend conversations, and telling stories helps children practise new vocabulary, form sentences, and explore social communication.
Open-Ended Toys: At this stage, children take open-ended play to a new level. Blocks, construction sets, Magnatiles, figurines, and toy animals give them freedom to build a city one day, a track or bridge for cars the next, or an entire imaginative adventure. Their play is guided more by imagination than just exploration, encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and independent thinking.
Simple Ways Parents Can Support Play
Supporting play doesn’t have to mean hours of prep or buying every toy under the sun:
💛 Follow their lead – notice what lights them up and join in.
💛 Choose quality over quantity – Montessori and open-ended toys (like the ones in our kits) keep kids engaged for longer.
💛 Rotate toys – sometimes putting a toy away for a few weeks and bringing it back keeps it exciting.
💛 Allow space for boredom – this often sparks the most creative play.
Final Thought
In the first three years, every laugh, block tower, and round of peek-a-boo is shaping your child’s brain, confidence, and curiosity. Play isn’t optional; it’s the foundation of learning.
As both a mum and a teacher, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful play really is. I’ve watched children light up when they figure something out on their own, and I’ve felt that joy as a parent, watching my own kids learn through the simplest games. But I also know how overwhelming it can feel to know which toys actually support development.
That’s why I started E&J Toy Co – to make it easier for parents to support play with carefully chosen, stage-based toy kits that grow with your child and spark independence, curiosity, and joy.
Because play doesn’t just keep them busy – it builds who they are.