Quality Standard 5.2
Encourage users to play
Play is essential for children’s learning and development, and toy libraries play a key role in supporting it. By choosing quality toys, sharing play ideas, and helping families understand how children learn through play, toy libraries encourage diverse, meaningful play experiences and support families to play and learn together.
Play is essential to children’s learning, development, and wellbeing, and it is recognised as a child’s right under Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Through play, children build language, physical skills, imagination, problem-solving, and social confidence. Toys are the tools children use to explore and understand the world, and toy libraries play a vital role in making quality play opportunities accessible to all families.
Toy libraries support play by choosing toys for their learning and play value, not just entertainment. They help families understand how children learn through play and encourage a wide range of play experiences, including free play, imaginative play, outdoor play, and shared family play. By supporting parents and carers with simple guidance and ideas, toy libraries build confidence and strengthen family relationships.
Toy libraries promote the importance of play by:
Choosing toys based on their play and learning value.
Sharing information with families about how children learn through play.
Encouraging different types of play (indoor, outdoor, imaginative, free play).
Providing ideas, resources, and staff knowledge to support parents and carers.
Helping families understand play types so they can choose the right toys.
Some examples to help you promote play:
Provide play tip cards/sheets showing how toys build skills (language, motor, pretend play). (Check out Early Ed - Cubby House Toy Libary - Play and engage series)
Offer parent workshops or short videos on “how to play with your child.” (Check out Unley toy Library)
Create play zones in the library (e.g., block area, imaginative play nook).
Share weekly play ideas via social media.
Use play skills posters (below) to help parents understand play development.
Play Skills Posters
Useful links
Raising Children Network – Play: https://raisingchildren.net.au
Play Australia:https://www.playaustralia.org.au/Inspired
Learning through play - https://learningthroughplay.com/
Play Skills Posters