CentraCare Plaza Pediatrics Is Filling Out ‘Prescriptions to Play’

Starting next week, CentraCare Plaza Pediatrics will be filling out orders to play!

Pediatricians will be giving children ages 18 months to 3 years old Duplo Legos at their well-child exams as part of the Lego/Weitzman Institute’s Prescription to Play program.

The clinic just received its first shipment of 500 Duplo Legos and is gearing up to start distributing them to promote healthy childhood growth and brain development.

Kids’ brains grow the fastest between the ages of 0 and 3 years old, and play is a great way for them to process information and destress.

Kimberly Hughes, MD, says, “We hope to use it as a tool during doctor visits but also as something fun to do for families.”

According to the Prescription for Play program, “play helps caregivers and kids build loving bonds.”

All toddlers will be eligible to receive one Duplo duck.

Currently, CentraCare Plaza is the only CentraCare pediatric clinic participating in the program, but Dr. Hughes and her team are working on incorporating it into other CentraCare facilities.