National Playday takes place on the first Wednesday in August, but at Newlife, we recognise how important play is and celebrate the joy of play every day.
Play helps children learn, connect and grow. It feeds curiosity, sparks imagination and supports important developmental skills. It can also help children build relationships with parents, carers, siblings and friends, and offer comfort during stressful times.
But for some disabled children, barriers can make play harder to access. These barriers might be linked to equipment a child needs to use, limited space or the way toys are designed.
Newlife helps remove those barriers through practical support, specialist equipment and play resources, so more children can enjoy the fun, confidence and connection that play brings.
Through our Play Pod loan service, we bring sensory toys into children’s homes across the UK. These carefully chosen toys help create inclusive play opportunities in a place where children often feel most comfortable.
We also work with grassroots organisations and charities that already support disabled children and their families. By providing funding for specialist toys, sensory play resources, training and education, we help strengthen local support and create more inclusive play experiences.
When play is truly inclusive, disabled children can build confidence, develop skills, connect with others and enjoy the joy of childhood.
How play helped Isabelle
One-year-old Isabelle has discovered new ways to play, learn and explore with support from Newlife.
Isabelle has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism that affects bone growth. Because she isn’t able to sit or crawl, many toys designed for children her age were difficult for her to use. Their size, weight or the positions she needed to be in to play with them became barriers.
Her mum, Anita, found it hard to find toys that suited Isabelle’s needs on the high street but the sensory toys from Newlife gave Isabelle more choice and helped the family understand what works best for her.
Anita said, ‘The toys are fantastic and support a wide range of developmental skills. In the sensory box Isabelle received, there are multi-coloured wooden chimes she can hit to make them spin. Those are a big favourite.
‘She has also been playing with the black and white high-contrast animals and has learned to roll a ball with lots of little tags on it. She is especially drawn to lights and sounds, so she really loves the turtle toy that came in the box too.
‘It has been so lovely to see the variety of toys she can use independently. She can play with them lying on her back, side or tummy, which makes them really accessible.’
Anita added that the toys had also helped the family understand what kinds of toys work for Isabelle, so they can buy similar ones themselves for her, as in the past they had bought toys that turned out to be too heavy or fiddly for her to use.
We definitely want to keep borrowing toys from Newlife. For any parent or carer who is unsure and looking for a way to see what works for their child, I would recommend applying.
anita, isabelle’s, mum
Newlife’s play support helps children like Isabelle enjoy childhood in a way that works for them: with more freedom, confidence and joy.
For more information on Newlife’s services click here