[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-147489-en":3,"doc-seo-147489-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},147489,13056703019662,"Evangeline","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/be000253a8e92610077?_k=1778726343310543188",7,"Healthcare","Play as Coping: Simple Summer Activities that Support Emotional Expression, Coping, and Connection","Play as Coping offers practical summer activity ideas for children to express emotions, build mastery, and regulate their nervous systems. Guidance highlights movement and sensory play for safe release, pretend doctor play to process medical experiences, and creative prompts to support expression without pressure to talk. It also covers sibling connection activities, creating predictable calming spaces, and easy everyday coping tools such as scavenger hunts, breathing breaks, and sensory jars, especially for families managing medical complexity.","Key Takeaways  \nPlay as Coping: Simple Summer Activities that Support Emotional Expression, Coping, and Connection  \nwith Annie Gunning, CCLS  \nCouldn 't make it to our Live Q&A? Don 't worry, we took notes, and like any good partner, we 're willing to share!  \nChild Life Series  \n1  \nPLAY IS A CHILD'S MOST NATURAL  \nLANGUAGE   \nPlay is often how kids express big feelings before they have the words for them.  \nEspecially meaningful for HIE families navigating medical complexity, developmental differences, trauma, or loss.  \nPlay helps kids process emotions, gain control, build mastery, and regulate their nervous systems.  \n2   \nWHAT \"PLAY AS COPING\" LOOKS LIKE  \nLooks different for every child—imaginative play, sensory activities, movement, music, storytelling.  \nSide-by-side activities (walking, drawing, tossing a ball) create connection without pressure to talk.  \nThe common thread: your child is engaged, expressing, and processing—even if it doesn't look\"therapeutic\" from the outside.  \nNo single \"right\" way to playas coping—what matters is that it's meeting your child where they are.  \n3  \nSENSORY & MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR  \nREGULATION  \nMovement and sensory input help release built-up energy and tension in safe, fun ways.  \n Water bins  Ice play  \n Spray bottles  Bubble play  Sidewalk chalk  \n Glow stick play  \n Obstacle courses  \n Scavenger hunts  \n Sensory bins ( rice, flour, kinetic sand, homemade play dough)  \nThese activities are some of the most accessible coping tools families have, especially during the  \nsummer months.  \n4   \nRECOGNIZING WHEN PLAY IS HELPING  \nYOUR CHILD COPE  \nWatch for repeated themes: hospitals, caregiving, rescue, injury, separation, or family changes.  \n\"Doctor play\" and re-enacting medical routines is a healthy way kids process their experiences.  \nTry keeping pretend doctor kits at home so kids can play both patient and caregiver.  \nThis kind of \"mastery play\" helps children work toward understanding and emotional regulation on their own terms.  \nPlaying both roles can help desensitize kids to medical materials in a low-pressure, familiar way.  \n5  \nSUPPORTING EXPRESSION WITHOUT  \nPRESSURE TO TALK  \nDrawing, painting, building, and storytelling offer indirect ways to express emotion.  \nTry prompts like \"Draw how you feel today using only colors\" or \"Use these blocks to show me your day. \"  \nEspecially helpful for kids with communication differences or trauma histories, who often express more comfortably through doing than  \ntalking.  \nSmall invitations like these can open big conversations —or simply give your child a way to be seen without needing words at all.  \n6  \nSIBLING CONNECTION ACTIVITIES  \n Family scavenger hunts  \n Obstacle courses  \n Collaborative art ( tie-dye, friendship bracelets)  Gratitude chalk drawings  \n Water balloon games  \n Family game nights  \n \"Rose and thorn\" at dinner  \nSibling connection is easy to overlook amid medical complexity, but it matters deeply for the whole family's emotional safety.  \nThese low-prep moments build teamwork and communication, and become memories kids carry with them.  \n7   \nCREATING A CALMING SPACE AT HOME  \nDoesn't need to be fancy—just predictable, safe, and personal to your child.  \nInvolve your child in choosing what goes in it: pillows, fidgets, books, music, a quiet corner or small tent.  \nAsk your child directly what helps them feel calm, safe, and comfortable—their input matters.  \nThe goal isn't perfection—it's a reliable place to return to when they need to decompress or regulate.  \n8   \nEASY EVERYDAY COPING ACTIVITIES  \nFeelings scavenger hunts  Emotion check-ins at meals  Breathing breaks  \n Mindful nature walks  \n Personalized coping kits  Storytelling games  \n Music/ movement breaks  Sensory jars  \n Summer journals  \nNone of these require a lot of time or money—just a willingness to meet your child where they are.  \n  CHILD LIFE SERVICES   \nFREE access to the SupportSpot app for Hope for HIE families!  \nIf you cannot acces","cbCain1mwlvPA3x6","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCain1mwlvPA3x6","pdf",5702521,1,10,"English","en",105,"# Play is a child's most natural language\n# What \"play as coping\" looks like\n# Sensory & movement activities for regulation\n# Recognizing when play is helping your child cope\n# Supporting expression without pressure to talk\n# Sibling connection activities\n# Creating a calming space at home\n# Easy everyday coping activities","[{\"question\":\"How does play help children cope with big feelings?\",\"answer\":\"Play often lets children express large emotions before they have the words. It supports processing feelings, gaining control, building mastery, and regulating their nervous systems.\"},{\"question\":\"What activities can support emotional regulation during summer?\",\"answer\":\"Movement and sensory input help release tension in safe, fun ways. Examples include water bins, ice play, spray bottles, bubble play, glow stick play, obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, and sensory bins like rice, flour, kinetic sand, or homemade play dough.\"},{\"question\":\"How can caregivers support expression without pressuring children to talk?\",\"answer\":\"Drawing, painting, building, and storytelling offer indirect ways to express emotion. Simple prompts—like using only colors to draw how they feel or using blocks to show a day—can open conversations or help children be seen without words.\"}]","Play as Coping: Simple Summer Activities that Support Emotional Expression, Coping, and Connection | PDF",1787764755,25,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":28},"play-as-coping-simple-summer-activities-that-support-emotional-expression-coping-and-connection","",{"@graph":36,"@context":86},[37,54,69],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/play-as-coping-simple-summer-activities-that-support-emotional-expression-coping-and-connection/147489/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-30","2026-08-26",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"How does play help children cope with big feelings?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"Play often lets children express large emotions before they have the words. 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Simple prompts—like using only colors to draw how they feel or using blocks to show a day—can open conversations or help children be seen without words.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":88,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":90,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":93},[94,98,102,106,111,116,119,124,129,132,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":134},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]