How Everyday Play Builds Memory, Attention and Problem-Solving Skills in Children

Everyday play helps children practise memory, attention, flexible thinking and problem-solving. Activities such as hide-and-seek, building with blocks, pretend play, matching games and simple household tasks give children opportunities to remember instructions, concentrate, test ideas and learn from mistakes. The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its clinical report on the benefits of play in January 2025, while UNICEF continues to highlight play as an important part of early learning and child development.

Introduction

A child searching for a hidden toy, building a tower from blocks or pretending to run a shop is doing more than having fun. These everyday experiences give children opportunities to remember information, focus on a goal, make decisions and work out what to do when something goes wrong.

Research and guidance from child-development organizations support the importance of play in early learning. In a clinical report titled The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) explained how developmentally appropriate play can support cognitive, language, social-emotional and self-regulation skills. The report, originally published in September 2018, was reaffirmed in January 2025.

The message is relevant to parents, caregivers and preschool educators, particularly those supporting children between birth and age eight. Children do not always need expensive educational toys or formal lessons to practise important skills. Simple activities using household objects, picture books, movement and conversation can create valuable learning opportunities.

The key is to give children time to explore, make choices, remember rules, try solutions and talk about what they discover. Play does not guarantee that every child will develop a particular skill at the same pace, but it provides repeated opportunities to practise abilities that support learning.

What Happened? Why Is Everyday Play Important for Learning?

The growing emphasis on play-based learning reflects an important principle in child development: children learn not only from being told information, but also from actively using it.

When children play a memory game, for example, they must remember where cards were placed. During a building activity, they may need to plan how to keep a tower standing. In a game such as “Simon Says,” they listen to instructions, remember the rules and control their movements.

These activities bring together several skills at once. A child may need to pay attention, hold information in mind, ignore distractions and change plans when the situation changes.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) explains that executive function includes working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. These abilities help children remember information, manage impulses, shift their thinking and work towards goals. Its guidance on developmentally appropriate practice describes play as an important way for young children to develop problem-solving, language, social and cognitive skills.

UNICEF’s parenting guidance also gives practical examples of learning through play. Hiding and finding objects, building structures together, drawing imaginative pictures and taking turns can encourage children to practise concentration, problem-solving and flexible thinking.

This is not a new breaking-news announcement or a claim that one particular game makes children smarter. It is an evidence-informed explanation of how ordinary play can support the development of skills children use in everyday life and at school.

Key Details: How Play Supports Memory, Attention and Problem-Solving

1. Memory develops through remembering and using information

Memory helps children retain information and use it later. It plays a role in remembering a story, recognising familiar objects, following instructions and learning new routines.

Different types of play give children different opportunities to practise memory.

Examples include:

• Memory-card games: Children turn over cards and try to remember where matching pictures are located.
• Hide-and-seek: Children remember where people or objects may be hiding.
• Action songs: Children recall words, movements or the order of actions.
• Storytelling: Children remember characters, events and what happened first or next.
• Building from a model: Children look at a simple structure and try to recreate it.

For preschoolers, parents can begin with just a few objects. Place three familiar items on a table, let the child look at them, cover them with a cloth and ask the child to name what they remember. If that is too difficult, uncover the objects and offer clues.

As the child becomes comfortable, parents can gradually add objects or introduce a short delay before asking questions. The aim is to make the activity engaging rather than frustrating.

Memory games are not a formal test of intelligence, and a child may forget something because of tiredness, distraction, unfamiliarity or many other reasons. Keep the experience playful and avoid comparing children with one another.

2. Attention grows through practising focus

Attention is the ability to direct mental effort towards something. Children use it when they listen to a story, follow instructions, complete a puzzle or look for a particular object.

Play gives children a reason to focus. They may concentrate because they want to finish a puzzle, discover what is inside a box or reach the next stage of a game.

Activities that encourage attention include:

• Puzzle time: Looking carefully at shapes, pictures and spaces.
• Sorting games: Grouping objects by colour, shape or size.
• Freeze dance: Moving to music and stopping when the music stops.
• “I Spy”: Searching for an object with a particular colour or feature.
• Simple cooking tasks: Watching an adult demonstrate steps and helping with safe, age-appropriate actions.

“Simon Says” and freeze dance are especially useful examples because children need to listen for a cue and control their response. They may have to stop an action they were enjoying or wait until the correct instruction appears.

These games help children practise attention and self-control, but they do not diagnose or treat attention-related conditions. Children differ in temperament, development, interests and how long they can comfortably focus. Activities should be adjusted to the individual child.

3. Problem-solving develops when children try different solutions

Problem-solving involves recognising a challenge, considering possible solutions, trying an approach and learning from the result.

Play naturally creates small challenges. A block tower falls over. A puzzle piece does not fit. A toy is out of reach. A pretend shop needs a way to organise its items.

Instead of immediately solving every difficulty for the child, an adult can give the child a chance to think.

Try questions such as:

• “What could we try next?”
• “Why do you think the tower fell?”
• “Would a wider base help?”
• “Where else could that piece fit?”
• “Can you think of another way?”

These questions encourage children to consider possibilities. If they become frustrated, offer a small hint or demonstrate one step, then allow them to continue.

UNICEF’s guidance on the science of play recommends giving children opportunities to tackle manageable challenges, while adults offer help when needed without taking over the entire task.

The purpose is not to make every activity difficult. Children need success, encouragement and a suitable level of challenge. A task that is too easy may not offer much opportunity to practise new strategies, while one that is too hard can cause unnecessary frustration.

4. Pretend play encourages flexible thinking

Pretend play occurs when children use imagination to represent something else. A cardboard box becomes a bus, a toy becomes a patient or a blanket becomes the roof of a house.

This kind of play asks children to move beyond the immediate function of an object. They create a situation, imagine what might happen and adapt their ideas as the game develops.

For example, a child pretending to run a grocery shop may decide which objects are for sale, take turns being the shopkeeper and customer, count pretend money and respond when someone asks for an item that is unavailable.

The activity can involve:

• Language and storytelling.
• Remembering roles and rules.
• Planning what happens next.
• Negotiating with another person.
• Changing ideas when the story changes.
• Practising everyday social situations.

Parents do not need to direct every detail. Let children suggest ideas, assign roles and develop their own stories. Adults can join in by asking questions or introducing a gentle challenge, but child-led imagination is valuable in its own right.

5. Building and construction games teach children to test ideas

Building with blocks, stacking cups, connecting cardboard tubes and making structures from safe household materials provide practical opportunities to explore cause and effect.

A child may discover that a broad base helps a tower stand, that some shapes fit together more easily or that adding too much weight causes a structure to collapse.

The learning process often follows a simple pattern:

1. The child has an idea.
2. The child tries it.
3. The result is different from what was expected.
4. The child adjusts the design.
5. The child tries again.

This process encourages persistence and experimentation. It can also introduce early mathematical ideas such as size, balance, shape, position and comparison.

Parents can support the activity by asking the child to predict what might happen before testing an idea. Afterward, they can discuss what worked and what could be changed.

Use materials appropriate for the child’s age. Small pieces can be choking hazards for young children, and construction activities should be supervised when necessary.

6. Games with rules help children practise self-control

Not every learning activity needs to be a worksheet. Games that involve turn-taking, waiting, remembering rules and responding to signals can give children opportunities to practise self-regulation.

Examples include simple board games, rolling a ball back and forth, taking turns adding blocks to a tower and following a sequence of movements.

A child may need to wait while someone else takes a turn, remember what happens next or accept that the game did not go as expected. These are everyday opportunities to practise managing impulses and responding to other people.

NAEYC’s guidance on executive function through games describes how working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility can be practised in playful classroom experiences. It also stresses that these skills develop over time and that children need different amounts of support and practice.

For younger children, begin with one or two simple rules. Add complexity only when the child is ready. The goal is not perfect behaviour; it is supported practice.

Background: What Is Executive Function, and Why Does It Matter?

Memory, attention and problem-solving are connected to a broader group of abilities called executive function.

Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child describes executive function and self-regulation as skills that help people manage information, make decisions, plan ahead, focus attention and adapt to changing situations. These skills develop over time and are shaped by children’s experiences and environments.

Three commonly discussed components are:

Skill	What it means	Example during play
Working memory	Holding and using information for a short time	Remembering the rules of a matching game
Inhibitory control	Pausing or controlling an immediate response	Stopping when the music stops
Cognitive flexibility	Changing approach or shifting between ideas	Finding another way to build a stable tower

These abilities work together. A child following a multi-step game may need to remember the instructions, resist the urge to act too early and adjust if a rule changes.

Executive function is not fully developed in early childhood. It continues developing through later childhood and adolescence, and children need support and practice. The fact that a young child struggles to wait, remember a rule or switch activities does not automatically mean something is wrong.

The role of play is to offer developmentally appropriate opportunities to practise these skills within supportive relationships.

What Research and Child-Development Organizations Say

Several organizations provide guidance on the relationship between play and children’s learning.

American Academy of Pediatrics

The AAP’s clinical report, The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children, was published in Pediatrics in September 2018 and reaffirmed in January 2025. It describes play as an opportunity to support cognitive, language, social-emotional and self-regulation skills, while also strengthening relationships between children and caregivers.

The report supports making room for developmentally appropriate play rather than treating it as a distraction from learning.

National Association for the Education of Young Children

NAEYC’s principles of developmentally appropriate practice state that play supports young children’s language, social relationships, physical development, imagination and problem-solving. The organization recommends daily, sustained opportunities for play, indoors and outdoors, for young children.

Its 2024 article on games and executive function explains how simple activities can give children practice with working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. It also emphasizes that children develop at different rates and benefit from suitable adult guidance.

UNICEF

UNICEF’s parenting resource, The Science of Play, describes how activities such as building structures, hiding and finding objects, making sounds and drawing imaginative pictures can encourage cognitive, social and creative skills. It also offers practical suggestions that do not depend on expensive toys.

UNICEF’s global data resource The Power of Play, published in 2026, highlights the importance of play in learning, development, care and connection. It also draws attention to unequal access to play opportunities and the need to support caregivers with time, information, safe spaces and simple materials.

Taken together, these sources support a clear conclusion: everyday play is a meaningful part of childhood learning, but it should not be presented as a guaranteed way to increase intelligence or eliminate learning difficulties.

Why This Matters for Parents and Preschool Teachers

Children’s schedules can become crowded with schoolwork, tuition, classes and structured activities. Parents may also feel pressure to buy special toys or educational products to prepare children for school.

Play offers another route to learning. It allows children to practise foundational skills while moving, talking, exploring and interacting with others.

For parents, the practical benefits are that many play activities are inexpensive, adaptable and easy to include in daily routines. A short sorting game while putting away laundry, a story before bedtime or a building challenge using blocks can create opportunities for learning without turning every family interaction into a lesson.

For preschool teachers, play-based activities can help reveal how children approach tasks. A teacher may observe whether a child remembers instructions, asks for help, tries another strategy or cooperates with peers. These observations can inform support, although a single game should not be treated as a formal assessment of development.

Play also creates opportunities for connection. An adult who follows a child’s interests, responds to their ideas and encourages their efforts can make learning feel safe and enjoyable. The AAP report highlights the importance of supportive, responsive relationships alongside play.

Does a child need expensive toys to develop these skills?

No. Children can practise memory, attention and problem-solving using simple materials such as cups, cardboard boxes, paper, crayons, household objects and picture books.

A toy’s price or electronic features do not, by themselves, establish its educational value. What matters is whether the activity invites the child to explore, think, communicate and practise skills at an appropriate level.

For example, a set of ordinary blocks can be used for counting, sorting, pattern-making, storytelling and construction. A homemade picture-matching game can encourage memory. A walk outside can become a search for different shapes, colours or natural objects.

Adults should choose safe materials, supervise when needed and adapt activities to the child’s abilities.

Simple Everyday Play Activities Parents Can Try at Home

Here are practical ways to build learning opportunities into ordinary family life.

1. Picture-memory game

Place a few matching picture pairs face down. Take turns turning over two cards and remembering their positions. Start with a small number of pairs and increase them when the child is comfortable.

Skills practised: memory, attention and turn-taking.

2. Build the tallest stable tower

Invite the child to build a tower from blocks or stacking cups. Ask what might help it stand, then let them test their ideas and rebuild when needed.

Skills practised: planning, problem-solving and spatial reasoning.

3. Pause-and-predict story time

While reading a picture book, pause and ask what the child thinks might happen next. After the story, ask them to remember a character or describe the order of events.

Skills practised: memory, language, attention and reasoning.

4. Freeze dance

Play music and invite the child to dance. When the music stops, everyone freezes. Keep it light-hearted and change roles so the child can control the music or give the signal.

Skills practised: listening, attention and impulse control.

5. Sort everyday objects

Ask the child to group safe household objects by colour, shape, size or type. Then change the rule and ask them to sort the same objects in a different way.

Skills practised: categorisation, flexible thinking and attention.

6. Hide-and-find challenge

Hide a familiar toy in a safe, accessible place and encourage the child to find it using simple clues. Offer a hint if they become frustrated, rather than immediately revealing the answer.

Skills practised: concentration, memory and problem-solving.

How often should children play?

There is no single daily duration that guarantees improvements in memory or attention for every child. Instead, aim to make play a regular part of the day and provide a mix of child-led play, interaction with adults, movement and opportunities to explore safely.

Young children may move between activities quickly. That is not necessarily a problem. Follow their interests, offer manageable challenges and allow them to return to activities they enjoy.

Protect time for sleep, meals, outdoor movement, reading and family interaction as well. Play should be part of a balanced routine rather than another source of pressure.

What Happens Next?

Play will remain an important consideration in early childhood education, parenting advice and preschool practice. Organizations such as the AAP, NAEYC and UNICEF continue to provide resources that help caregivers understand how playful experiences can support development.

The next step for families does not require waiting for a new programme or purchasing a specialised learning product. Parents can start with simple activities, observe what interests their child and offer encouragement as the child explores.

Educators can also use play intentionally while maintaining a balanced curriculum that includes language, early mathematics, physical activity, social learning and rest.

There is no confirmed single game or universal play schedule that guarantees a particular cognitive outcome. Each child develops in their own context, and children who need additional learning or developmental support may benefit from guidance from teachers and qualified professionals.

The most useful principle is straightforward: make room for play, let children do some of the thinking, and support them as they try, discover and try again.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does everyday play build memory in children?

Everyday play gives children opportunities to remember objects, instructions, sequences and rules. Activities such as matching cards, hide-and-seek, action songs and storytelling allow children to practise recalling information in enjoyable, low-pressure situations.

2. What games help preschoolers improve attention?

Simple games such as freeze dance, puzzles, “I Spy,” sorting activities and “Simon Says” encourage children to listen, observe details and respond to instructions. Choose activities that suit the child’s age and interests, and remember that attention develops gradually.

3. How does play improve problem-solving skills?

Play introduces manageable challenges that children can investigate. When a tower falls, a puzzle piece does not fit or a pretend game changes, children can test different solutions, learn from the results and adjust their approach.

4. What is the best age to start learning through play?

Learning through play begins in infancy and continues throughout childhood. Activities should change as children develop. Babies benefit from safe sensory experiences and responsive interaction, toddlers from exploration and simple games, and preschoolers from pretend play, construction, puzzles and games with simple rules.

5. Do children need expensive educational toys to develop memory and attention?

No. Everyday materials such as blocks, cups, picture books, paper and safe household objects can support learning through play. The activity, the child’s participation and opportunities to explore and practise matter more than the price of a toy.

6. What is the connection between play and executive function?

Executive function includes working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. These skills help children remember information, manage impulses, shift attention and adapt to new situations. Play provides opportunities to practise them, although they develop over time and are influenced by many factors.

7. Should parents guide children’s play or let them play independently?

Both can be valuable. Child-led play gives children room to make choices and explore their interests, while guided play allows adults to introduce ideas, ask questions and offer support. The best approach depends on the activity, the child’s age and the child’s needs.

8. Can everyday play replace formal learning or professional support?

No. Play complements learning and can support important developmental skills, but it does not replace appropriate teaching, healthcare or developmental assessment when needed. If a parent has concerns about a child’s development or learning, they should discuss them with a qualified healthcare professional or the child’s teacher.