reports The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. It says recent data shows that two thirds of parents already perceive their children to be feeling lonely - an increase of around 50 per cent on normal levels.Dr Kathryn Lester, senior lecturer in developmental psychology at the University of Sussex, writes that: "The importance of play for children’s wellbeing is still all too easily overlooked, and sadly even more so in the midst of a global pandemic."For social and emotional wellbeing, children need to engage in all types of play.