Sunflower Lane Therapy

30/05/2026

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Little Grace 💕

23/04/2026

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The octopus is a solitary creature. It does not play socially. And yet it plays.

Individual octopuses will spend time bouncing objects back and forth in their tanks — not for food, not for survival advantage, but interacting with objects just for the sake of it.

The researchers who first investigated this identified three conditions required for octopus play to occur:
- The animal must be safe.
- Not stressed.
- And curious about something worth exploring.

Safe. And curious.
That’s it.

Octopuses haven’t shared a common ancestor with humans in at least 600 million years — and yet they independently evolved remarkable problem-solving abilities, curiosity, and intelligence.

Play didn’t travel from a shared ancestor. It arrived again. Separately. From scratch. Because across the deepest divisions in the animal kingdom, nature keeps selecting for curious minds in safe conditions.

This is the most fundamental argument for play that science has ever produced. Not that play builds skills or bonds or resilience — though it does all of these things. But that play is what curious minds do when they are safe enough to do it.

In an octopus. In a child. In anyone.
Make them safety. Give them something worth exploring. Then get out of the way. 🌿

Nature Knows — A series of posts by Dr Play
📍 drplay.com.au

04/03/2026

Have you ever noticed how your child can go from calm to explosive in seconds? Dan Siegel’s Upstairs / Downstairs Brain is a simple way to understand why.

The 'downstairs brain' is in charge of big emotions, survival instincts and staying safe. It reacts quickly – think fight, flight, freeze.

The 'upstairs brain' is where problem-solving, empathy, and reasoning live. It helps children make good choices, manage feelings, and connect with others.

But here’s the catch: children’s upstairs brains are still under construction. That means when emotions overwhelm, their downstairs brain often takes over.

This isn’t 'bad behaviour' – it’s biology. When we see it this way, we can respond with compassion, co-regulation, and strategies that help a young person move from downstairs to upstairs.
Resources to support educating a child around this model are available in our Resource Store.
EMOTIONS and MY BRAIN
This extensive resource pack based on Dan Siegel’s Upstairs and Downstairs Brain
helps and educates children and young people on the concept of the upstairs and downstairs brain can help them recognise how their own brain functions and develop strategies for self-regulation and emotional intelligence.
The pack comprises explainers, emotions scale resources, practical activities including upstairs and downstairs brain choices (behaviours), stress response, amygdala hijack, explainers for both adults and young people and activities to consolidate learning around parts of the brain and functions. Also includes 5 skin tone range of emotions.

Varying resources to suit ages 6-16yrs. Now also available as an 8 week intervention.
Electronic download available at link in comments or via our Linktree Shop in Bio.

01/03/2026

We need more nuance in how we talk about therapeutic approaches for children, and young people

Highly verbal, cognitive strategies have their place. But they’re not universally developmentally appropriate. A teenager-appropriate approach isn’t automatically right for a preschooler or a child just starting school. And equally, not every teenager is ready for a purely cognitive or verbal process — regardless of their age

That’s where play comes in!

I’ve worked with many teenagers who have found their voice through play-based communication — a board game, a metaphor, a moment of shared play — when words alone couldn’t get there

Developmental readiness matters more than chronological age. Play meets children and young people where they are

26/02/2026

The Jai Institute for Parenting 💙

25/02/2026

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Responsive Parenting Inspirations 💕

17/02/2026

Teach Through Love 💕

15/02/2026

❤️

10/02/2026

🙏

07/02/2026

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