Play Times

This month’s Play Times invites you to rediscover joy through play. Explore how adults can reclaim vitality, meet Jaak Panksepp—the neuroscientist who identified play’s deep emotional roots—join a special webinar with Dr. Stuart Brown, and learn how a playful mindset fuels innovation and camaraderie in workplaces today.

This month’s issue of Play Times celebrates early childhood educators, explains the benefits of play-based pre-school and kindergarten, highlights Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek’s work on playful learning, previews Playposium 2025, explores what brings teens joy, and shares recent issues of play research journals reinforcing that play isn’t a luxury, but a vital ingredient in lifelong learning, resilience, and well-being.

This month the Play Times highlights the importance of playfulness in relationships, showcasing research that suggests it deepens intimacy and improves communication. It also profiles Playposium, an event for educators, and features news including an interview with Dr. Brown and a Mattel toy study.

This month, we’re exploring the power of playfulness—a core trait wired into the brain that helps shape how we move through the world. We spotlight the work of Dr. René Proyer, a leading researcher in adult playfulness, and share exciting updates on upcoming events you won’t want to miss.

Adolescents often lack awareness of their intrinsic play—activities that bring deep satisfaction and engagement which contributes to the current youth mental health crisis. This month’s Play Note digs into this. We profile Dr. Peter Gray who works passionately to attenuate the crisis. In News our next webinar with Dr. Stuart coming March 25, 2025 and more.

For January our Play Note covers the importance of free play for children, highlighting its role in fostering creativity, self-regulation, and problem-solving. We Profile Dr. Joe Frost, a pioneering researcher in play and playground design. Play News provides an example of the benefits of free play in youth sports, a suggestion of how to reduce overparenting with a mindset shift, and we highlight articles on the importance of playfulness in adult friendships, and again include links to current issues of peer reviewed play journals.