Tote Bag Play Therapy

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(selected for a 6-year old boy) By Marva S. Fonseca

Criteria for Selecting Toys

•  Facilitate a wide range of creative expression. •  Facilitate a wide range of emotional expression. •  Engage children’s interests. •  Facilitate expressive and exploratory play. •  Allow exploration and expression without

verbalization. •  Allow success without prescribed structure. •  Allow for noncommittal play. •  Have sturdy construction for active use.

(Landreth, 2012, p. 156)

“Real-life toys target withdrawn children that may be timid, shy, or introverted (Pikiewicz,

2014, para. 7).”

Real-Life Toys: Doll Family

“Anger, fear, sibling rivalry, crises, and family conflicts can be directly expressed as the child acts out scenes with the doll family figures (Landreth, 2012, p. 161).” When choosing dolls, make sure

that dolls are culturally sensitive (Landreth, n.d.).

Real-Life Toys: Gumby Doll

Considered a non-descriptive figure, Gumby can be used in place of anybody the child chooses because it does not resemble anyone in particular. Non-descriptive toys also apply to cars. The less detailed the toy is, the more things it can be to a child (Landreth, n.d.)

Real-Life Toys: Dollhouse

Dollhouse may be made from a cardboard box but must have the following settings: bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. These are the most common settings “life” happens in (Landreth, 2012).

“Aggressive toys facilitate the release of anger (Pikiewicz, 2014,

para. 7).”

Aggressive Toys: Puppets and Guns

“Children in play therapy often have intense pent-up emotions for which they do not have verbal labels to describe or express. Toys and materials such as the Bobo (bop bag), toy soldiers, alligator puppet, guns (absolutely no realistic looking guns), and rubber knives can be used by children to express anger, hostility, and frustration (Landreth, 2012, p. 162).”

Aggressive Toys: Bobo Doll

Inflatable Bobo doll, if storage space is available. This toys is also considered expressive because it allows children to express pent-up emotions such as anger, hostility, and frustration (Landreth, 2012).

“Creative-expression toys afford a wide range of expressive emotions that

foster creativity and allow kids to be messy

(Pikiewicz, 2014, para. 7).”

Expressive Toys: Sand

“Sand and water lack structure and can be whatever the child wants them to be: the surface of the moon, quicksand, the beach, something to clean with the possibilities are limitless. There is no right or wrong way to play with sand and water. Therefore, the child is assured of success. This is especially helpful for cautious (‘shy’) or withdrawn children (Landreth, 2012, p. 165).” A box with about 2” of sand is enough

for a child to play with and bury things in (Landreth, n.d.).

Expressive Toys: Crayons

A box of 8 crayons is all that is needed in play therapy. It is recommended that crayons be broken into pieces and have the paper taken off. This allows the child to use the crayon anyway he or she desires. A nice box of crayons sends the message that a child should be neat and precise and thus hindering creative expression (Landreth, n.d. )

Expressive Toys: Kinetic Sand

Kinetic sand is not mentioned in the book or in the video but it is suggested as a play therapy toy in PlayTherapySupply.com. It can be molded like Play-Doh and it is sand. According to Jillian (2014), Kinetic Sand can help with fine motor development, sensory processing, drawing and pre-writing skills, creative thinking, pretend play, speech and language development, increased attention, and helps children develop a sense of calm.

Tote Bag for Play Therapy

References •  Jillian. (2014). 8 Benefits of using kinetic sand in therapy.

Retrieved from http://blog.michaels.com/blog/kinetic-sand •  Landreth, G. (2012). Play therapy: The art of the relationship. [E-

book]. Retrieved from http://www.coursesmart.com/9780415886819/firstsection

•  Landreth, G. (n.d.). Toys and materials for play therapy. [MediaCast.usw.edu]. Retrieved from http://mediacast.usw.edu/inventivex/mediaresources/checkout_clean.cfm?ContentID=4222&TransactionID=55421&Checksum=%20%20519394&RepServerID=&JumpSeconds=0

•  Pikiewicz, K. (2014). 3 categories of (with examples) of play therapy toys. Retrieved from http://www.playtherapydaily.com/3-categories-examples-play-therapy-toys/