The Power of Play to Support Mental and Behavioral Health

by Pamela Mastrota |  View Bio

Pamela Mastrota

Pamela Mastrota is the Executive Director of The Toy Foundation (TTF) where she is dedicated to fulfilling its mission to be the uniting force for the collective philanthropy for the toy industry for the benefit of children in need. Mastrota is responsible for implementing TTF’s Strategic Action Plan to serve as a thought leader and effective partner in delivering comfort, joy, and the extraordinary benefits of play to every child.

To ensure TTF best supports the industry, Mastrota oversees and evaluates all aspects of its operations, relationships, development and fundraising, communications, and program areas in a manner that supports, strengthens, and advances the Foundation’s vision, mission, core values, and Strategic Action Plan.

Mastrota joined TTF in June 2021 bringing extensive C-level and nonprofit leadership, fundraising and relationship-building experience. She has advanced profit and non-profit organizations through transformation and growth to increase impact thanks to big picture creativity, innovative solutions, and collaboration with staff, board leadership and communities.

Prior to joining The Toy Foundation, Mastrota served as the Chief Operating Officer for Make-A-Wish Metro NY & Western NY where she successfully increased volunteers in underserved areas by 180% to best serve Make-A-Wish kids through the recruitment of experienced and culturally diverse department heads and the development of organizational plans that improved productivity and efficiency. Previously, Mastrota served as President and Chief Executive Officer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Long Island Chapter.

Play is a powerful tool clinically proven to manage and improve children’s mental and behavioral health. As children and youth face mental and behavioral health conditions at staggering rates, universal access to play is more important than ever.

When children are in crisis, families often turn to their local doctor’s office, urgent care, or hospital for support. However, these are stressful and scary environments for children and may excerbate the situation. To help children’s hospitals normalize the environment and better support their patients using the power of play, The Toy Foundation’s Children’s Hospital Play Grants program funds play therapy grants and distributes toys year-round.

MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, a Play Grants recipient, recently shared a story about how their medical team used play to care for their patient:

I was working in the emergency department and a 5-year-old came in for finger sutures, and she was terrified. She was inconsolably crying because she was brought into this new place, her fingers hurt, and at the time, she didn’t have her family with her.

To treat the patient successfully, we needed to make her comfortable and build a rapport. I used stickers, clay dough, and a stuffed animal, and she immediately started playing which tells us so much about children in the midst of crisis. They still want to play to make sense of the world around them.

To prepare her for the scary part – removing the gauze from her fingers – I did a lot of reassurance through play because she didn’t want anyone touching her fingers. When it was time to place her hand in the water basin, she froze up and regressed. So, we made it playful by having a rubber duck go for a swim for five seconds, then her hand goes in the water for 5 seconds, and we continued to rotate. Her face lit up, she was immediately reengaged, and we were able to successfully complete the procedure because of play.

Whether you are in a medical setting, classroom, or at home, there are countless ways to help children express their feelings in a healthy way, while having fun. For play ideas, check out The Genius of Play Emotional Wellness Playbook.

The Toy Foundation™ is grateful to its Children’s Hospital Play Grants programmatic sponsors, Beacon Media Group, Mattel, and VTech Electronics.

To help The Toy Foundation bring play into more children’s hospitals nationwide, consider making a donation online.

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