If Your Child Is Struggling… It Might Be Because They’re Not Playing Enough

It’s a confronting thought, isn’t it?

When your child is acting out, shutting down, anxious, withdrawn, clingy, explosive, or just not themselves — it’s natural to look for answers. You start Googling. You ask your mum friends. You scroll parenting pages, and you question everything.

“Is it sensory?”
“Is it my fault?”
“Should I be doing more... or less?”
“Is it time for an OT? A paediatrician? A new routine?”

What if, before we label or panic, we simply paused and asked:
“Are they playing enough?”

Because the truth is — for many children today, play is missing.

Play isn’t a luxury. It’s a developmental need.

Play isn’t the thing we let children do after they finish their “real work.”

It is their real work. It’s how they process the world. It’s how they learn to regulate their bodies, emotions, and relationships. It’s how they problem-solve, build resilience, and develop the confidence they’ll carry into adulthood.

But here’s what’s happening in modern childhood:

• Kids are overscheduled.

• Outdoor time is minimal.

• Screens are replacing movement.

• Academic pressure is creeping in far too early.

• Parents are overwhelmed and unsupported.

And it’s costing our kids — physically, emotionally, socially, neurologically.

At Wild Gully, I’ve watched children come alive again when they are given time and space to play — to climb, build, dig, take risks, and create their own adventures. Their shoulders drop. Their spark returns. Their meltdowns ease. Their confidence grows.

And parents often say:
“It’s like I got my child back.”

The symptoms of play deprivation can look like something else.

We’re quick to label what we see in children as “behavioural problems” or “disorders” — but sometimes, what we’re really seeing is a cry for play.

➤ Tantrums and emotional outbursts?
Could be a child with a nervous system screaming out for regulation through movement.

➤ Poor focus or fidgeting?
Could be a brain that hasn't had enough gross motor activity to activate the prefrontal cortex.

➤ Anxiety, anger, or withdrawal?
Might be a lack of safe, unstructured space where the child feels they can truly be.

It’s not about ignoring deeper issues — it’s about giving your child their full toolbox of development. And play is one of the biggest tools they have.

Nature play is one of the fastest ways to recalibrate.

Play heals. But play outdoors transforms.

Children need movement — real, unstructured, muddy, unfiltered movement.
They need the opportunity to take risks, make mess, test boundaries, and connect with other children and with nature itself.

At Wild Gully, I see the transformation daily:

• Children who wouldn’t speak at school, narrating their entire tree climb.

• Kids with sensory sensitivities suddenly seeking messy play.

• Parents who arrive exhausted and leave smiling.

• Children who start with fear and leave with fire in their bellies (sometimes literally — they’ve just learned to make their own!).

And the best part? It doesn’t take long.

When you strip back the pressure, the screens, the schedules — and you let kids play like kids — something clicks.
Their behaviour starts to shift.
Their emotions begin to settle.
Their joy comes back.

You’re not failing. You’re just fighting against a system that forgot how kids work.

If your child is struggling, it’s not a reflection of your worth as a parent.

You’re raising a child in a world that has made play optional, rushed childhood, and ignored developmental science.

It’s not you. But it can start with you.

Start slow.
Start small.
Start with Wild Gully — or even just a patch of backyard mud, a bucket of water, or a fallen branch.

Let them climb.
Let them build.
Let them run.

Because when a child is struggling, what they often need most is to move their body, feel their power, and be truly seen — not for who we want them to be, but for who they already are.

Ready to give your child the gift of play?

Join us for our final week of Term 2 sessions — or book into Term 3 now. Our Holiday Program begins soon as well.
https://www.wildgully.com/bookings

Because the magic your child is looking for isn’t in a classroom or a screen — it’s in the mud, the movement, and the moments we make room for.

Let childhood unfold as it should.