When people think about toys, they usually think about fun, creativity, and childhood. Play is all of those things, but it also has a role in how children learn, communicate, manage emotions, and interact with other people. Research on play has led to a broader look at how those experiences may relate to children’s mental health and overall well-being.
That connection is especially relevant as Western Youth Services kicks off its 2026 Annual Holiday Toy Drive on October 12th. The goal is to collect 2,000 new, unwrapped toys for children and youth throughout Orange County.
What Research Says About Play
The American Academy of Pediatrics has been studying the role of play in childhood development for years. Its research connects developmentally appropriate play with social-emotional development, language, problem-solving, and self-regulation. Play also gives children time to build relationships with parents, caregivers, and peers. The AAP’s clinical report on the importance of play was reaffirmed in January 2025, and newer AAP guidance published in 2026 continues to recognize connections between play and children’s physical, mental, and social-emotional health.
What play looks like can change quite a bit as children grow. A preschooler building a tower with blocks is having a different experience from an older child playing a board game with a sibling, but both activities can involve decision-making, communication, problem-solving, and interaction with other people.
Play can also give children a way to express things they have a difficult time identifying. UNICEF notes that play can help children manage stress, work through difficult emotions, and build confidence. For younger children in particular, play can be a useful way to communicate feelings and experiences.
Play and Mental Health Treatment
Mental health professionals have also found ways to incorporate play into treatment. Play therapy uses toys, games, creative activities, storytelling, and pretend play to help children communicate, explore emotions, develop coping skills, and work through difficult experiences. For a child who might not have the words to explain what they are feeling, play can provide another way to communicate with a therapist.
There’s research behind these approaches, too. A systematic review of play therapy for children with cancer found improvements in anxiety and depressive symptoms across several types of interventions, including cognitive-behavioral, family-based, and group play therapy. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis looked at 23 studies involving 1,541 children with cancer and also found significant reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms following play interventions.
These studies focused on children with cancer, so the findings shouldn’t be applied to every child or taken to mean that playing with a toy treats anxiety or depression. However, they do provide another example of how play is being studied and used as part of children’s emotional and mental health care.
Why Youth Mental Health Support Matters
The research on play exists within a much larger conversation about children’s mental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 reported having unmet mental health care needs in national data collected from 2021 to 2023.
The CDC also reports that, among children ages 3 to 17 in 2023 to 2024:
- 11% had current, diagnosed anxiety
- 4% had current, diagnosed depression
- 8% had a current, diagnosed behavior disorder
Mental health care is one piece of the picture, but children’s well-being is shaped by much more than what happens in a therapist’s office. Relationships, family life, school, community, and the chance to play and spend time doing things they enjoy all matter, too.
Why Access to Toys Matters
A building set, art kit, board game, basketball, or other toy can give a child something to do, make, explore, or share with someone else. Different toys create different kinds of play. Building sets can involve problem-solving. Art supplies give children a way to create and express themselves. Board games involve communication and cooperation. Sports equipment can encourage movement and interaction with other children.
Those experiences aren’t equally accessible to every family. The American Academy of Pediatrics has identified socioeconomic barriers as one factor that can limit children’s access to safe, creative play and age-appropriate activities.
That’s part of the reason Western Youth Services hosts its Annual Holiday Toy Drive. WYS works with children, youth, and families throughout the year, and the Toy Drive offers another opportunity to support local children outside of the therapy setting.
This year’s Toy Drive has a goal of collecting 2,000 new, unwrapped toys, including gifts for teens 11 and older. Community members can donate a new, unwrapped toy, shop the Amazon Wishlist, make a monetary donation, volunteer, or share the Toy Drive with others.
A new toy can give a child something to look forward to during the holiday season and, in the months that follow, another reason to play, create, and spend time doing something they enjoy.
