Most children begin life playing-on their mother’s body,then with fingers and toes, and from there to the comfort of “blankeys” and teddy bears.And by the second year, with language and cognitive gains,the childenters the world of pretend,bending play and fantasy, attempting to understand the mysteries of the grownup world. Slowly,over time,most children begin to grasp the differences between the pretend world and the real world,between the often-chaotic innerworld of thoughts and feelings,and the outer world of“real”reality;with what can be shared and what must be hidden.
Therapists have long tried to capitalize on the child’s natural playful capacities,seeing it as a substitute for the adult’s attempts to put feelings and thoughts into words. Play is to the child what words are to the adult–a form of communication,a way of accessing one’s innerlife, expressing the inchoate feelings that unknowingly govern one’s life.
