Looking for ways to turn your sensitive child’s unique way of experiencing the world into meaningful play moments? Those same qualities that can make daily life more intense – noticing every detail, feeling things deeply, picking up on subtle changes – can become superpowers during playtime. When we lean into these traits rather than trying to work around them, we open up a whole new world of connection with our little ones.
Understanding how to provide support during play is crucial for their emotional growth and parent-child bond. With the right approach, playful experiences nurture your child’s traits while helping them develop essential coping skills.
Before discussing play strategies, it’s important to understand your child’s highly sensitive brain. Highly sensitive children tend to have a responsive nervous system, processing sensory input more intensely. This personality trait isn’t a disorder or weakness; it’s a unique way of experiencing daily life.
Research shows differences in neurotransmitter production contribute to heightened nervous system reactivity in highly sensitive children. This heightened sensitivity, or sensory processing sensitivity, manifests in various ways. Understanding these traits is critical for tailoring play to their needs:
Play is vital for all children, but even more so for highly sensitive ones. Play allows them to express emotions, develop social skills, and process sensitivity and understand their world. It provides a secure environment for processing big emotions and intense feelings.
An OECD report highlighted how environments shape children’s social and emotional skills. Play is a vital part of this development. Engaging in meaningful play helps children sensitive to overstimulation by developing crucial coping mechanisms. This isn’t merely having fun; it fosters healthy relationships and develops strong social and emotional skills.
For example, take a simple play session where you and your child are building towers with blocks. If your child’s tower falls, this might cause them to cry, feel mad, or overwhelmed. This is a safe place for them to experience these feelings and talk things through with you in order to help them feel regulated again. Instead of telling them to simply “get over it” or “stop crying”, take a much gentler approach. You could say something like, “I totally get why you’re upset, it can be hard to work on something and have it break. Maybe we can rebuild it together or try building something else in a little bit!”
You can also try and introduce strategies such as deep breathing or doing a five senses activity to ground. Sometimes though, your child might be more overwhelmed with how unexpected their tower falling was. It can be frightening to hear a loud sound out of nowhere and for highly sensitive kids, they experience this ten-fold. If this sounds like your child, empathize with them and validate their feelings. When they feel heard by you, it can make a world of difference in their sensitive brains.
Let’s explore effective strategies for how to start child-led play sessions.
Highly sensitive children are easily overwhelmed by environmental factors and sensory input. Creating a peaceful, dedicated play space helps minimize distractions and supports your child. A calm play environment will foster their emotional well-being and create a more positive impact.
Think features like soft lighting, comfy seating, and neutral colors. You can tweak it to your child as you see fit, but generally, these things foster a soothing environment. This allows children sensitive to overstimulation to feel safe and relaxed, enabling focused play without sensory overload.
Open-ended toys, such as building blocks, art supplies, or natural materials like sticks and stones, are those that don’t have a single defined purpose or a set of rules. Instead, these toys encourage creativity and self-directed play, allowing your child to determine how they are used and at a pace that feels good for them. This flexibility makes them particularly beneficial for highly sensitive children, who often experience the world in a more intense and nuanced way.
By offering these kinds of toys, parents and caregivers can support highly sensitive children’s unique needs, giving them the space to explore their creativity while providing a safe, soothing environment for play.
Another option is playing by using different storytelling options. For example, you could start telling a story and have them fill in the blank about what happens next. Another story telling option is pretending you are telling the story from the perspective of an animal or object. This type of play is great for encouraging children by allowing exploration of feelings and social situations in a safe environment. Children experience big emotions during play that prepare them for handling situations in daily life. Your presence in these situations is crucial and shows your child that you will always be there for them in this way during play and everyday life.
Nature offers comfort for highly sensitive children. Being outdoors provides gentle sensory engagement, offering a break from the overwhelming stimuli often found indoors. These nature play activities can support your child’s emotional growth, which will develop strong emotional regulation skills while fostering creativity and curiosity. Time spent in nature also encourages mindfulness, helping children stay present and manage their emotions. Over time, these experiences can build resilience and a sense of inner peace.
These sensory experiences teach environmental awareness and nurture a deep connection to the natural world, which can be grounding and calming for highly sensitive children.
Pretend play significantly develops strong emotional intelligence. It allows children to explore various roles and situations, helping them understand and manage emotions more effectively. For example, a child pretending to be a doctor might learn empathy by comforting a “patient,” or a child acting as a teacher might practice problem-solving by guiding their “students.” This is particularly useful for children sensitive to others’ emotions, as it gives them a safe space to process and navigate the intense feelings they experience.
The major pillar of pretend play is to follow your child’s lead and let their imagination guide the activity. For instance, if your child decides they want to run a make-believe café, join in as a customer, and let them dictate the menu, roles, and interactions. This is your child’s time to take over the reins, so try your best to let them stay in the spotlight while supporting their creativity and emotional exploration.
Sensory play involves activities that engage a child’s senses, such as touch, sight, sound, and sometimes smell or taste, providing a hands-on way to explore their environment. For highly sensitive children, sensory play can be especially beneficial as it helps them gradually become more comfortable with different sensations, fostering resilience and adaptability. However, it’s important to introduce these experiences gently to prevent overstimulation, especially for children who may be sensitive to sensory input.
Start with calming, simple sensory activities tailored to your child’s comfort level. For example, textures like kinetic sand offer a soothing, tactile experience that can help cautious children explore new sensations at their own pace. Activities like finger painting or water play allow children to experiment and interact with their surroundings in new ways, supporting emotional regulation and creative development.
Here are a few sensory play ideas:
Always respect your child’s limits and avoid pushing them into uncomfortable experiences. Start with activities they feel confident in and gradually introduce new sensations as they become more comfortable. This approach helps sensitive children develop coping mechanisms while making sensory play a meaningful and enjoyable experience.
Play is a powerful tool for teaching emotional regulation, which is especially important for highly sensitive children. Through play, children can practice managing emotions like frustration, disappointment, or excitement in a safe and low-pressure environment. For example, board games that involve turn-taking or coping with setbacks help children build skills like patience, self-control, and resilience. These are critical for navigating life’s big emotions and fostering overall emotional well-being.
Remember: let your child direct the play as much as possible. When children are allowed to choose how they play, their sessions tend to be more positive and enjoyable, making the learning process more effective. Encouraging self-directed play not only boosts their confidence but also helps them internalize emotional regulation strategies naturally.
Here are some examples:
Keep in mind, because they are still learning emotional regulation skills, they may become frustrated or upset while playing. This is perfectly okay and is actually the goal! You want them to experience those emotions in a safe environment where you can support and teach them how to manage them. If they get upset they lost a game, you can say “losing is hard but we can’t win every game, it would be no fun for our friends if they lose every time” or “I get disappointed when I lose too, but then I remember there’s always next time!”
Quiet time is essential for highly sensitive children to recharge and process their emotions. They often feel overwhelmed by intense stimuli, so balancing active play with calming activities like reading, coloring, or puzzles helps them find emotional equilibrium. These moments foster introspection and provide a safe space for reflection, something highly sensitive children naturally enjoy.
Quiet time also supports mindfulness, helping children tune into their feelings and build self-awareness. It offers an opportunity to develop coping mechanisms and manage stress in a low-pressure setting. By creating a balance between activity and rest, quiet time ensures sensitive kids feel supported and ready to engage with the world more effectively.
Highly sensitive children are often easily overwhelmed by sensory input, have big emotions, notice small changes, and show empathy. As your child develops, their high sensitivity may present differently, but it will never go away. It will always be a part of them and as they grow, they can learn different ways to manage this sensitivity.
If your highly sensitive child doesn’t want to play, it’s important to respect their need for downtime. Highly sensitive children often require extra space to process their emotions or recover from overstimulation, and forcing them to engage can lead to frustration or withdrawal. Gentle invitations, like asking if they’d like to join you in a calming activity such as reading or drawing, are fine, but it’s okay if they decline.
Sometimes, simply being present with them is enough. Sitting quietly nearby or engaging in a solo activity they enjoy can provide comfort and connection without adding pressure. Over time, as they feel more regulated, they may naturally reengage in play on their own terms. Trust their instincts and offer support at their pace.
To help your highly sensitive child cope with overwhelming play situations, create a calm and supportive environment by offering quiet spaces for them to retreat to when needed. You can also gently guide them through deep breathing or other calming techniques to help regulate their emotions during intense moments. It’s important to validate their feelings and encourage gradual exposure to challenging situations, allowing them to build confidence and resilience at their own pace.
Open-ended, creative toys like blocks and art supplies are ideal. Avoid noisy or overly stimulating toys, considering individual preferences and sensory processing. Guiding children toward toys appropriate for them, particularly those sensitive to sensory overload is critical.
Learning how to engage in meaningful play with your highly sensitive child is a journey. Creating a supportive atmosphere, selecting appropriate activities, and honoring your child’s unique traits enables deep connections. Through play, your sensitive child experiences essential skill development. Each highly sensitive child is different. Observe your child’s cues. Approach play patiently, and lovingly. These sensitive kids experience a positive impact when their emotional needs are met, and these play activities create an outlet to manage those experiences. Meaningful play aids skill development, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness. Engage with your child, encourage imagination, and relish the joys of play.
Meaningful Play with Your Highly Sensitive Child: 7 Engaging Tips
Jill Gilbert
Published by
