By Playeum Children created a plan and model of their ideal home using paper, markers, loose materials, and LEGO bricks, including features they said were important, such as ‘a space to look out at the sky’. Image: Playeum “Not so much level, okay?” A boy studied the drawing of the house the children were designing and shook his head. “Can we build underground?” Another child paused. “Okay, but then we cannot see the sky. So let’s think about it.” Paper, colour markers, LEGO

By Playeum Play can open a window into a child’s world. By listening or looking closely, adults can discover what matters to them. How to support them is shown by Dr  Esther Joosa (PhD)  through her work leading our Open Minds, Open Doors (OMOD) community play programme. Today, we feature her interactions with nine-year-old John. While most children in the programme are non-verbal, John is not. On the contrary, he is vocal. He frequently relates how several years ago, he was

By Playeum Across Asia, communities are reimagining what it means to truly support children’s growth and wellbeing. Play is increasingly recognised as a powerful pathway for learning, connection, and development. But meaningful and lasting change depends on more than just providing playful experiences for children. It also requires adults to reflect on how they see, support, and relate to the children in their lives. Our Executive Director Charlotte joined regional play advoc

By Playeum It began with a doorstep conversation. In May last year, during an evening house visit at Sin Ming Garden, Elysa Chen, Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, met a stay-home mum who spoke about indoor parent-child centres she had seen in Taiwan, places where families could simply show up and let their children play in a safe, welcoming environment.  Then came a hopeful question: could something like that exist in Bishan? The idea lingered. Soon after, Elysa

By Playeum In the time it takes a child to build a tower with blocks, a toddler today can scroll through dozens of videos on a tablet. In Singapore, young children spend an average of 2.5 hours daily on screens (Chen et al., 2020), while teenagers can spend up to 8.5 hours immersed in digital worlds (Anand & Tang, 2025). Screens may entertain, but they cannot replicate the sensory, physical, and social experiences that hands-on play offers. Research shows that excessive scree