Simple Summer Activities That Support Emotional Expression, Coping, and Connection
Summer doesn't have to only include structured therapy or carefully planned interventions to be healing. Sometimes, the most powerful coping tool available to your child is already in their backyard — a bucket of water, a box of sidewalk chalk, or a pile of blocks.
In this month's Child Life Q&A, Annie Gunning, Certified Child Life Specialist and Grief Counselor, shared how play supports emotional wellbeing, what coping through play actually looks like at home, and how families can build connection and resilience into their everyday summer routines — without spending a lot of money or adding to an already full plate.
Missed the stream? No worries. We took notes, and like any good partner, we're willing to share.
Before children have the words for big feelings, they have play. Annie reminded us that play is often how children express worries, questions, and experiences. During times of stress, illness, grief, or change, play helps children:
This is especially meaningful for HIE families, where children may be navigating medical complexity, developmental differences, trauma, or loss — often without the verbal capacity to explain what they're carrying.
Play as coping looks different for every child. For some, it's imaginative play or building. For others, it's sensory activities, movement, music, or storytelling. The common thread being that the child is engaged, expressing, and processing, even when it doesn't look like anything "therapeutic" from the outside.
For children who struggle to sit and talk about feelings, side-by-side activities are especially powerful. Joining your child in play, going for a walk together, tossing a ball, or drawing side by side can create natural openings for connection and emotional expression — without any pressure to talk.
Movement and sensory input help children release built-up tension and energy in safe, fun ways. They're also some of the most accessible tools families have, especially in the summer months. Annie shared a wide range of ideas that support nervous system regulation:
Outdoor and water play:
Sensory bins and creative materials:
These activities support emotional regulation, calm the nervous system, and improve focus — and they require very little setup or cost.
Not all play is just play. Annie encouraged families to pay attention to themes that show up repeatedly — hospitals, caregiving, rescue, injury, separation, or family changes. This kind of mastery play is often how children make sense of difficult experiences and work toward understanding and emotional regulation.
A child who pretends to be the doctor, re-enacts NICU or therapy routines, or carefully tends to a stuffed animal patient isn't just playing — they're processing. This is healthy and normal, and it's worth creating space for it. Annie suggested saving real medical supplies and having pretend doctor kits at home, so children can play both patient and caregiver. This kind of play also helps desensitize children to medical materials in a low-pressure, familiar way.
Many children — especially those with communication differences or trauma histories — communicate more comfortably through doing than through talking. Creative activities like drawing, painting, building, and storytelling give children a way to express emotions indirectly, without the pressure of a direct conversation.
A few simple prompts Annie suggested:
These small invitations can open big conversations, or simply give your child a way to be seen and heard without needing words at all.
For families navigating the complexities of having a child with medical needs, sibling connection can be easy to overlook, but it matters deeply. Annie offered a handful of low-prep activities that encourage teamwork, communication, and emotional expression for the whole family:
These moments of connection build emotional safety and resilience — and they're the kinds of memories children carry with them.
A calming space doesn't need to be elaborate or expensive. It just needs to be predictable, safe, and personal to your child. Annie encouraged families to involve their children in creating it — asking what helps them feel calm, safe, and comfortable.
Simple items that can anchor a calming corner:
The goal doesn't need to be perfection — it's a place your child can return to when they need to decompress or emotionally regulate.
Annie wrapped up with a list of simple, child life inspired activities that families can layer into everyday life:
None of these require a lot of time or money. They simply require a willingness to meet your child where they are — in play, in movement, in the messy, creative, joyful work of coping.
Connect with Annie and the Hope for HIE Child Life program at HIE.Support.
Watch the full recording, along with our other Child Life Q&As, on Hope for HIE's YouTube channel under the Child Life Series playlist, or download our Key Takeaway resource for an at-a-glance look at the Q&A highlights!
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