Learning Through Play at a Glance
Issue:
- Children’s development and mental health are underserved globally.
- Research shows ages birth-6 years is the best leverage point for lasting impact.
- All parents want the best for their children but their parenting actions not always helpful.
Action:
- This approach leverages proven experience training parents on how to play with their children to drive stronger attachment and balanced development.
- LTP core resource is translated into 36 languages.
- International partnerships built with local country experts over 25 years.
Results:
- LTP has been used to train many hundreds of thousands of parents in more than 25 countries for a few dollars per family
- Measured improvements in: Mother’s emotional health; Father’s engagements; reduced physical punishment; improved child raising practices; strengthened parent-child attachment.
What is Learning Through Play (LTP)
The LTP Program is an internationally recognized, low-literacy, sustainable program that provides parents with a path for the healthy growth and development of their young children birth to six.
The major goal of LTP is to promote the mental health of young children and to prevent psychosocial problems in infancy and beyond. It teaches parents about the importance of play activities that they can use to engage their child and to foster early development and mental health. These activities enhance child development while simultaneously promoting attachment security through building parents’ ability to read and be sensitive to their child’s cues and capacities and through active parental involvement in their child’s development
LTP’s History
LTP, an early child development resource, was developed by The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, (now SickKids) a children’s mental health centre, in collaboration with Toronto Public Health and a group of agencies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The purpose was to serve families with young children in a very multi-cultural environment. Hincks-Dellcrest amalgamated with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Recently SickKids shared that the LTP resources can be by international organizations at no cost.
According to Dr. Nancy Cohen, former Director of Research and Evaluation at Hincks-Dellcrest,
“All of the Learning Through Play activities are developed in accordance with research evidence showing the importance of the first six years of life and the experiences that children require for optimal development. Research activities both within the Hincks-Dellcrest and elsewhere not only lead to greater understanding of development and the origins of mental health, but can directly and meaningfully help children and families to build stronger relationships and build resiliency in children and families.”