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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Sally Weale Education correspondent

Improved mental health for children who play well with peers by age three

Children run in a park in autumn in Toronto, Canada
The protective link between peer play and mental health persists even for those children at particular risk of mental health problems, according to the researchers. Photograph: Blend Images/Rex/Shutterstock

Children who learn to play well with their peers by the age of three are likely to enjoy better mental health later in childhood, according to research from the University of Cambridge.

The study is said to be the first to establish a connection between “peer play ability” before children go to school and improved mental health at the age of seven. Researchers say it is the quality – rather than quantity – of play that matters.

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