The Power of Play: How Movement, Imagination, and Fun Build the Developing Brain

Dr. Erin O'Daniel & James Cardo
Dec 28, 2025
3 min read

When most adults think of play, they imagine fun, laughter, and imagination. But from a neurological perspective, play is far more than fun, it’s the foundation of development. Every time a child rolls, climbs, builds, pretends, or giggles, their nervous system is wiring itself for balance, focus, coordination, and emotional regulation.

At Flower of Life Chiropractic, we often tell parents: Play is the child’s version of work. It’s how their brain learns about gravity, relationships, problem-solving, and safety. It’s also how we can glimpse what’s happening inside their nervous system.

Play Builds the Brain

Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, describes play as “the purest form of human expression.” Neuroscientific research supports this, studies show that play activates the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and limbic system, which are responsible for emotional regulation, movement coordination, and higher cognitive skills.

In other words, when your child is pretending to be a dragon or building a fort, they’re not “just playing”, they’re strengthening the same brain pathways they’ll later use for reading, empathy, and emotional control.

Dr. Carla Hannaford, in Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head, explains that movement and play integrate both sides of the brain. Gross motor play, like crawling, balancing, spinning, and climbing lay the groundwork for the fine motor and academic skills that come later.

The Sensory Magic of Play

Play is also a full-body sensory experience. As children explore their environment, their nervous systems are constantly processing input such as touch, sound, movement, and balance.

Healthy sensory play supports:

Proprioception (body awareness): through jumping, pushing, pulling, and climbing
Vestibular function (balance and coordination): through spinning, swinging, and rolling
Tactile integration (touch): through messy play, textures, and physical contact

Children who miss out on these sensory-rich experiences often struggle with balance, coordination, focus, or even anxiety later in life. That’s because their nervous systems haven’t had the opportunity to develop the maps of safety and control that come from physical exploration.

Dr. Robert Melillo, author of Disconnected Kids, notes that play and movement are key to integrating primitive reflexes and balancing hemispheric brain function, critical components of attention, self-regulation, and learning readiness.

Emotional Regulation Through Play

Play doesn’t just shape the body and brain, it teaches emotional resilience.

Through play, children practice navigating frustration, excitement, surprise, and disappointment. A game of tag teaches how to manage stress and recover quickly. Pretend play builds empathy and emotional flexibility. Roughhousing with a trusted adult helps the nervous system learn the difference between safe excitement and real danger—a vital skill for lifelong emotional regulation.

As Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory suggests, play also strengthens the social engagement system. When children laugh, make eye contact, or share joy, their vagus nerve is activated—promoting calm, connection, and heart-brain regulation.

The Chiropractic Connection

When a child’s nervous system is stuck in protection mode (fight, flight, or freeze), play can feel harder. They might resist movement, avoid touch, or melt down easily when overstimulated.

Through gentle adjustments and neurospinal care, we help restore ease and flexibility to the nervous system so the body can fully participate in play again. As we often see in practice, once the nervous system relaxes and communication improves, kids naturally become more curious, coordinated, and playful.

Play becomes the expression of a nervous system that feels safe.

Supporting Play at Home

Here are a few ways to bring more brain-building play into your child’s day:

Get on the floor. Join your child at their level—mirror their movements, make eye contact, and follow their lead.
Encourage unstructured play. Let go of the plan and let their imagination guide the activity.
Prioritize movement. Jump, swing, roll, and spin—especially outdoors.
Add rhythm. Music, drumming, and dancing engage both sides of the brain and support emotional regulation.
Say yes to mess. Sand, water, mud, and paint are sensory goldmines for a developing nervous system.

The Power of Play

Play isn’t a break from learning, it is learning. It’s the language of the developing nervous system, the tool for integrating body, mind, and emotions.

So next time your child is climbing the couch or turning the living room into a pirate ship, remember: their brain is hard at work building the foundation for a lifetime of resilience, creativity, and connection.

Play is medicine for the developing brain. The more we protect and prioritize it, the more we help our children grow into grounded, adaptable, and joyful humans!