Printable toolkit
The Playful Parent Toolkit
When everything has turned into a power struggle, more rules and consequences rarely help, but play often does. It’s a printable set of games, activities, and simple strategies you and your child do together, one page at a time, so cooperation and connection come from the fun you have, not from one more consequence.
When you want more cooperation
This is for the days when nothing is landing and everything is a fight.
You are stuck in a loop of power struggles, and you want your home to feel lighter.
You did not grow up with playful parents, so being silly does not come naturally.
You ask for one small thing, and it turns into a standoff.
What you get
What comes in the printable toolkit
US$23.64
- 50 printable pages of games, activities, and playfulness tools to add to your parenting toolbox
- Quick games you can play in under five minutes, with no prep and nothing to buy
- Coloring sheets and low-energy activities for the days you have nothing left to give
- Fridge-ready posters that put a playful reminder where you will see it, so you play instead of push
- Simple strategies for turning getting dressed, leaving the house, and other standoffs into play
- Parent guidance on why play works, from Jess and the expert team
Buy once and print it as often as you like for your own household. Pull out the page you need, and start playing today.
What Changes When You Play Together
Cooperation without the standoff
Your child cooperates more often, because play gets you past the standoff instead of into it
Power struggles cool down, because your child feels connected to you rather than controlled by you
A closer, more confident child
Your child's confidence grows through play that tells them they are good company and fun to be around
The bond between you deepens through silly, everyday moments, not big days out
Playfulness you can actually keep up
You build the habit of reaching for play even when you are tired and it does not come naturally
You always have a gentle, ready-made option for the days you have nothing left to give
Created by Jess and a team who take play seriously.
The Playful Parent Toolkit was created by Jess VanderWier, a Registered Psychotherapist and mom of three, with a team of experts in child development and early childhood education. They built it on a simple idea: play is not a break from the real parenting work, it is how young children learn, build confidence, and feel close to us. The goal is to make playful connection something you can reach for on an ordinary, tired Tuesday, not a performance you have to put on. This is a practical tool for bringing more play into your days, not therapy or a fix for every hard moment.
What's inside
A Look Inside the Toolkit
A small preview of the real pages, so you can see how simple and doable they are before you buy.
Game
Animal Charades
Colouring sheet
Colouring Page
Strategy
Get Into Character
Activity
Nature Scavenger Hunt
My wife bought this for us – she’s a naturally playful parent, I’m not. We put the tools on our fridge as a reminder, and it’s helped me many times to remember to play instead of getting angry.
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If your house could use more play and fewer standoffs, the pages are ready.
Picture the version where you have a game ready the moment things start to tip, where a standoff turns into laughing more often than not, and where being playful feels less like a performance and more like something you can actually do. You can start with one page tonight, hang one poster on the fridge, and let the rest follow as you go.
US$23.64
Frequently Asked Questions
We made it for children ages 3 to 9. You know your child best, so you do not have to use everything at once. Start with the games and pages that fit what is going on right now, like a stretch of getting-dressed battles or a strong-willed season, and come back to the rest as you go.
It is meant to be done with your child, not handed over. The games and activities are things you do together, and the posters and strategy cards are reminders for you. A few minutes of play at the right moment works better than any long sitting.
Yes, and it was made with you in mind. If being silly feels awkward, or you did not grow up with playful parents, you do not have to invent anything. The pages give you the idea, the words, and the game, so you can follow along instead of performing. Most parents find it gets easier the more they reach for it.
It can be, because this does not rest on one big burst of fun. You get lots of small, low-pressure options to try: a quick game, a coloring page, a silly idea on the fridge. When one does not land, you have another ready, and the right one at the right moment tends to click.
Yes. We made it with strong-willed and neurodivergent children in mind. Play gives a child who needs some control a way to feel it that works for everyone, and the visuals, games, and hands-on activities give sensitive kids more than one way to join in.
That is okay. The toolkit is much more than coloring pages. It is full of games, activities, posters, and strategies, so you can lean on the parts your child enjoys and skip the rest.
Free ideas are scattered, and you have to find the right one in the middle of a hard moment, which is exactly when you cannot. This is 50 pages organized around the moments that actually trip families up, with guidance on the why behind each idea and a do-it-together structure, made by a psychotherapist and a team of child-development experts. You are paying for having the right idea ready, not just a list of activities.
It is designed to be printed. Print the pages you want as many times as your household needs. You can read some pages on a screen, but the posters, games, and coloring sheets work best on paper, where your child can point to them, color them, and come back to them.
The toolkit is licensed to the registered user and their household for personal, non-commercial use. Files must not be shared, distributed, or copied for other households or classrooms.
It is one combined PDF you download and print at home. The pages are sized for US Letter and scale nicely to A4 if you need it. It is designed in color, but everything holds up in black and white too. You can also use it on a screen, though the posters, games, and coloring sheets work best on paper.
Your purchase is handled through the Nurtured First checkout, and your printable download is available right after, with your order and receipt saved in your account.
No. It is educational support for play and connection between you and your child. It does not replace therapy, medical care, or advice from a qualified professional.
Because this is a digital printable toolkit, sales are final and cannot be returned or refunded. If you bought the wrong toolkit, contact us within 24 hours of purchase and before downloading. If you have trouble accessing the file, contact support@nurturedfirst.com and we will help. Read the full refund policy on the Refund Policy page.
Related support
If you want more help making these years feel lighter
A few more Nurtured First resources for the same ages and the same daily standoffs.
Parenting Little Kids
For the tantrums, the hitting, and the yelling you swore you would never do. Short video lessons that help you understand what is driving the behavior and respond without punishment, for ages 0 to 12.
Setting Boundaries
For when you cannot tell whether you are being too soft or too strict. Video lessons on what a boundary really is, how to hold it without yelling, and what to say in the daily battles, for ages 1 to 12.
The Sibling Toolkit
For the sibling fights that keep landing in your lap. Printable activities, games, scripts, and posters you and your children work through together, so listening, taking turns, and making up become things they practice, not things you referee, for ages 3 to 9.
