Piccalo towers & pikler triangles: Ways to Connect with Our Children that don't involve Playing with Them

When it comes to Child Development and play, you may have come across two lines of thought. "Team Play with your child" or "Team Independent Play" as a way to support emotional health. Honestly, I believe both are great and can work together wonderfully. There's absolutely no need to do one or the other.

With that said, after years of supporting children and their families, I learned that not all parents are keen on playing with their children, which is completely understandable. We can't forget that temperament and personality play a role in children's and their parent's needs, which means that connection may happen in a deeper way when we understand the uniqueness of each parent-child relationship.

Connection through play is beautiful and can't be forced. It's natural that play may come more easily to us one day but not the next, and that's part of being a human. However, our children do need us, everyday. So how can we make sure we aren't pushing our little ones away at the same time that we are meeting their needs for connection?

We invite children into our world instead. Doing age appropriate chores together and sharing tasks that children feel we are trusting them to execute can be one of the many ways we can nurture connection and togetherness. One way I personally love to bond with my kids that isn't me playing with them is by having them on the Picallio helper tower while we share chores. From meal prepping to washing dishes together, the tower keeps them safe which helps us all have a good time.

Picallio also has one of the products I love to recommend to every parent I work with, the Pikler triangle. Depending on your child's age, you may still need to supervise play while they explore the structure, but you can sit next to it and let your little one find their own ways to play while you observe and help them if it becomes unsafe.   

So when a parent isn't comfortable with playing - no matter the reasons - focusing on what we are comfortable with is the most authentic way to continue to build a relationship of trust and honesty.

To see the Pikler in action, check out Rachael’s Tiktok here!