Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-Being Through Play

For too many children, crisis is the new normal

Millions of children around the world are living in difficult and dangerous situations that put their safety, their health, and their futures at risk.

More than 43 million children have been forcibly displaced. One in 6 children are living in conflict zones. And nearly one billion children—53% of children worldwide—live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to the extreme impacts of climate change.

The trauma of living in conflict and crisis can negatively affect children’s brain development and put them at risk of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. Refugee and displaced children are particularly vulnerable.

When we provide emotional support to children in the form of psychosocial support, we can help them cope with trauma, process difficult experiences and emotions, and find a sense of normalcy that enables them to learn and develop. Psychosocial support is critical for children’s well-being and learning. Yet it is one of the most underfunded and overlooked areas of humanitarian assistance.

Help us make psychosocial support a priority for every child in need.

Supporting Children's Social Development Through Play

For 25 years, Right To Play has used the power of play to help children living in difficult and dangerous situations. Even in the most desperate conditions, play can provide children with a sense of normalcy, safety, and control.

When children feel safe, they’re better able to cope with trauma and uncertainty. This resilience helps prevent mental health conditions from worsening, and helps children continue to develop emotionally, socially, and cognitively – even under the toughest conditions.

In play-based psychosocial sessions, we create caring, supportive environments that help children who have been affected by crisis understand and manage the complex emotions they are feeling, including grief, loss, and fear.

Playing supports children’s emotional well-being in many ways, including: allowing them to release energy through physical activity; letting them focus on the present; promoting a sense of belonging; helping them express their emotions; promoting a sense of competence; restoring a sense of identity, personal value, and self worth; developing adaptive life skills

Providing psychosocial support is critical to helping children return to learning and be able to focus on their studies and building positive and supportive relationships with their peers and the adults in their lives.

Creating Safe Spaces in Lebanon

In 2024, thousands of families in Lebanon were displaced due to conflict, with children struggling - and continuing to struggle - with loss and uncertainty. Right To Play responded by helping children cope with instability through play-based social and emotional support. Together with local partners, we trained youth coaches to lead sessions that created safe, supportive environments where children could feel a sense of normalcy, express themselves, and cope with trauma.

Read about our response in Lebanon

Responding To Floods In Pakistan

When Pakistan was hit with historic flooding in September of 2022, millions of children lost their homes, and were forced to seek temporary shelter with their families. Children needed a way to destress, but didn’t have an outlet Right To Play-trained coaches and volunteers responded by leading play sessions, which helped children release their negative emotions, connect with each other, and bring a sense of normalcy back to communities. Even after the situation resolved, parents asked Right To Play coaches to continue conducting play sessions.

Read about our response to the floods in Pakistan

Coping With Displacement in Ethiopia

Hayat was forced to flee her home in District Tongo, Ethiopia, because of conflict. She arrived at a refugee settlement traumatized by the experience—but eager to find a way back into the classroom. Play-based lessons and psychosocial support games at a local school helped Hayat catch up on learning, connect with her peers, and start to process the trauma she experienced.

Read Hayat's story