“Even if you stick around 24 hours a day, you wouldn’t know
“My child’s inner thoughts began to become clear through ‘play’!”

★Highly recommended by Lee Bo-yeon, director of the Child and Family Counseling Center, a parent education expert★
★Over 20,000 hours of play therapy over 18 years★
★Includes behavior correction methods that can be used at home★

Every parent is a playmate for their child.
But are you really playing "properly" with your child? Even while playing, you're constantly distracted by the buzzing of KakaoTalk messages on your phone. Why does it feel like only 30 minutes have passed after a long day of playtime? The kid next door seems to be playing well on his own, but why does your child keep getting irritated during playtime? In most families, parents struggle because they don't know how much or how to play with their children, and children struggle because their parents don't play as much as they want.


Play is children's instinct, language, and life.
In particular, the age range of 4 to 7 is an important period when ‘real play’ begins, in which children begin to express and learn their thoughts and emotions through play.
If you look closely at how your child plays at this time, you can see what problems he or she has beyond his or her mind, temperament, and personality.
How a child interacts and plays with their parents can either promote their development or exacerbate behavioral problems.
This book goes beyond simply introducing play methods; it also helps parents examine and improve the play they normally do at home.


The author, who has spent over 20,000 hours over 18 years providing counseling and play therapy to parents and children, introduces proper play and conversation methods through everyday examples.
It also provides specific solutions to problems encountered in play situations.
This book is a friendly guide that offers warm courage and clear advice to parents who find playing with their children the most difficult thing in the world.

From the time my daughter turned three, we went to the playground frequently.
Then I started to look closely at the children and mothers playing at the playground.
"That child's difficulties could be resolved with just a little help in that situation, but Mom doesn't seem to know." "That child seems to need a lot of interaction with Mom." Seeing the various mothers and children at the playground filled me with pity.

And a year later, as a mother of one child, not a counselor, I started having honest conversations with many mothers at the playground.
At that time, I saw the real concerns of mothers with children aged 4 to 7 and the reality of childcare.
If I were to describe the mother and child I often saw in the counseling room as 'half', I felt like I was facing the whole picture by confirming the other half that was hidden.
--- p.
9 「Prologue.
From “Play” by a mother who has been a play counselor for 18 years

For a child, play is an instinct, a language, and life.
Parents, on the other hand, are not like that.
So, in order to truly communicate with their children, parents must also learn how to play one by one.
Of course, it may be awkward and difficult at first.
But just having the mindset to learn to play is already the first step.
As those steps accumulate one by one, at some point you will feel that playing with your child becomes enjoyable and that you are communicating emotionally.
Now let's walk that path together.

--- p.
43 From "Chapter 01 Do I have to play with you?"

When children and their mothers play together, try to make sure that the children are on the same side.
Then the children unite and play together.
It's okay for mom to act as a stepping stone.
For example, if two children play the roles of Peter Pan and Wendy, the mother can play as Tinker Bell and connect the two.
It's hard for a mother to always join in on her children's play, but when children's play choices and roles are fixed, it's a good idea for a mother to play with her children and balance the play.
In this way, they learn not only how to interact with each other but also how to resolve conflicts, and their brotherly bond becomes stronger.

--- p.
100 From “Chapter 02 Mom’s Worries in Play: What Should I Do in This Situation?”

The playground is a meeting place.
Here, parents sometimes rest and hear parenting information from other mothers.
You may even find a neighboring mom with whom you can share your heart.
But we often miss the moment when we need to teach our children how to deal with conflict situations.
This does not mean that you should follow your child around and interfere with his or her every move.
This means that you should watch and observe your child frequently while talking to the neighboring mother or while taking a short break by sitting on a bench.
Many parents are not very interested in their children's play and do not intervene much because they think that playgrounds are just places for children to let loose.
In fact, playgrounds are the best places to learn social skills because they bring together children of all ages, genders, and personalities to play.

--- p.
121 From “Chapter 03 Expanding Play: How do you play with friends?”

When we role-play, we often outpace the child's play at some point.
In doing so, we end up making the mistake of creating the content of the play rather than encouraging the child to play.
When playing with a child, the child creates the content of the play, and the parent just stays in the play and responds.
To use a cooking analogy, parents would sprinkle salt or sugar on the food their children made to make it more delicious.

--- p.
167 “First.
From “Role Playing: Helping to Improve Empathy and Expand Thinking”

To raise children who are willing to try again without being fixated on failure, parents must encourage their children's play process and respond flexibly to frustrating situations.
When a block your child is building starts to wobble, instead of immediately telling them to "fix it," ask them what to do about the situation.
If the blocks fall down and your child cries and gets upset, read your child's feelings and wait a moment for them to calm down.
Because the child also needs time to accept this situation and process his emotions.
At this time, if the mother quickly consoles the child by saying that it is okay and rebuilds the broken blocks by herself in an attempt to resolve the child's upset feelings, it will not help the child develop self-control.
Even if the blocks fall down, you must always praise the child for the effort or effort they put into playing.
Children grow through a lot of trial and error while playing.
I hope parents will recognize this and encourage and support their children.

--- p.
183 “Second.
From “Block play that develops creativity and spatial perception”