educational opportunities( SAMHSA 2014; Erdman & Colker, with Winter 2020).
While educators are tasked with creating caring communities for all learners, this is particularly important for children who face adverse experiences during early childhood. Early childhood educators have a responsibility to recognize the signs of stress and trauma in young children and to respond in ways that are developmentally appropriate, equitable, and culturally responsive( NAEYC 2019, 2020). This means moving beyond simply being trauma-informed, or aware that trauma exists. Instead, we argue that educators must become trauma-responsive, actively adjusting their practices to meet each child’ s needs( Fields & Davis 2025). A trauma-responsive approach is grounded in scaffolded, play-based interactions( Erdman & Colker, with Winter 2020) that encourage children’ s sense of safety, positive relationships, and agency and that consider how systemic inequities might affect children and families( Venet 2021).
Guided play is one strategy that early childhood educators can consider using in their repertoire of practices to cultivate caring classroom communities( Zosh et al. 2022). As educators set up playful learning environments and gently scaffold children to work toward specific learning goals, they can build a sense of safety, positive relationships, and agency for children. In this context, educators can support children to process trauma, both collectively and individually( Sciaraffa et al. 2018; Erdman & Colker, with Winter 2020).
We( the authors) are early childhood education professors with years of classroom teaching experience and ongoing work with pre- and in-service teachers. Our expertise is in traumainformed practices( first author), guided play( second author), and family engagement and partnership( third author). In this article, we examine the potential intersection of these areas and offer strategies for creating equitable, inclusive guided play spaces. We base our insights and recommendations on the existing literature on trauma and on guided play as well as our own observations, research, and experiences in early childhood settings, preschool to grade 3.
What Trauma Looks Like in the Early Childhood Setting
Ms. Lori’ s classroom is bustling with activity during center time. In the construction center, three 4-year-old children are deep in tornado play, which has emerged after a recent community disaster. Using the various emergency vehicles Ms. Lori has added to the construction area, they knock over block structures and rescue small figures from the rubble.
Other children congregate in the class library. They intently look at the books Ms. Lori has added on tornadoes. These include Otis and the Tornado, by Loren Long; Tornado! The Story Behind These Twisting, Turning, Spinning, and Spiraling Storms, by Judith and Dennis Fradin; A Twisted Tale, by Carolyn Fisher; and Hero Service Dogs, by Jennifer Boothroyd. As the children play and read, Ms. Lori observes them and gently guides their interactions.
Marco stands at the edge of the dramatic play area, clutching a baby doll and watching. Unlike his classmates, Marco’ s family lost their home and nearly all of their belongings in the tornado. They spent two weeks in temporary housing offered through the Red Cross before securing an apartment in a neighboring city. Since returning to school, Marco rarely touches shared classroom materials and frequently hovers at the edges of play without joining.
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