Playing with friends should be prioritised for children as lockdown eases, experts say
reports The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. It says recent data shows that two thirds of parents already perceive their children to be feeling lonely - an increase of around 50 per cent on normal levels.Dr Kathryn Lester, senior lecturer in developmental psychology at the University of Sussex, writes that: "The importance of play for children’s wellbeing is still all too easily overlooked, and sadly even more so in the midst of a global pandemic."For social and emotional wellbeing, children need to engage in all types of play.