Child’s play: how time-poor and burnt-out parents can build creativity and emotional intelligence | Sarah Ayoub

Research shows play is one of the most fundamental elements of a child's development, critical to their way of connecting with others

• Sharing the Load is a column about parenting children of all ages

If you're a working parent, chances are there are a lot of things you feel guilty for. Convenience meals or snacks; not being across ALL the school/daycare announcements ALL of the time; bad Book Week costumes; that time you yelled at the kids in public because you were hungry.

But if my conversations with parents are anything to go by, not playing with our kids enough is one of the things we feel the most guilt over and yet many of us are too burnt out to do anything about it: it's just another thing we have to add to our to-do list.