Aaron Morris leads the LEGO Group’s family-focused social impact work. Here, Morris highlights how thoughtfully designed community spaces can help families reconnect through play, improving children’s wellbeing and strengthening relationships, while calling for broader societal investment to make these opportunities accessible to all.
As a parent of two young kids (6 and 3), one of the questions that always hangs in the air as the weekend approaches is: what are we going to do?
Again and again, we find ourselves returning to one of our favourite places: Dokk1, the main public library in Aarhus, Denmark. Every time we go, I’m reminded of what is possible when communities truly invest in families.
What amazes me most is that it’s not just a place to borrow books. It’s a public space intentionally designed to bring people together.
Outside, beautiful play spaces wrap around the entire building. Inside, there are welcoming spaces for babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, parents, grandparents… everyone. It’s full of small invitations to linger, explore, and connect. And every week, there are free events and activities for families; opportunities to play, learn, create, and meet other people in the community.
Everyone should have access to places and experiences like this.
Places that make family life feel lighter. Places that create opportunities for joy, belonging, creativity, and connection across generations. Places that make it easier for families, children, and communities to play together.
That feels especially important right now because, across the world, too many children and families are struggling.
Recent global evidence from UNICEF Innocenti points to declining well-being outcomes for children and young people. At the same time, many parents and caregivers are navigating enormous pressure: rising stress, fragmented schedules, economic strain, loneliness, and constant demands on their attention and energy.
And yet, despite all of this, most families are not lacking the desire to connect. Parents and carers overwhelmingly want more joy, more closeness, and more moments of togetherness and play with their children. What many families lack are the conditions that make that connection and shared play easier: time, space, energy, and support.
Shahria (2) and dad Anisur play with bubbles at a Lego Play Innovation Lab in Tower Hamlets, UK.
When those conditions exist, play becomes much more than an activity. It becomes a way for families to build relationships, strengthen communication, and create moments of joy and belonging together.
That insight sits at the heart of the work I lead at the LEGO Group and at the heart of our collaboration with Save the Children.
In Denmark, toddler clubs have created welcoming spaces where caregivers and young children can play, learn, and build community together.
In China, Early Steps to Success has helped parents and teachers use play to support young children's learning, development and everyday connections - especially migrant children, left behind children and children with disabilities, in rural and underserved communities.
In Italy, Germany, Spain and Mexico, Build the Change shows how play can do more than spark creativity - it can strengthen connections by giving children and adults around them opportunities to listen to one another, problem-solve together and imagine a better future.
Across contexts, the specifics may differ, but the underlying truth remains remarkably consistent: when children and families are supported to connect through play, relationships strengthen, and children’s wellbeing improves.
Across initiatives, we see what is possible when support exists. But these opportunities remain out of reach for too many families. We cannot continue placing the full burden of children’s wellbeing on parents and caregivers without more support from the societies and systems around them.
That is why, alongside direct programmes with children and caregivers, organisations like Save the Children, the LEGO Group, and many of the partners behind the International Day of Play are also working to drive broader scale change.
Because if we are all committed to supporting children’s wellbeing, then we must ask bigger questions.
Roman (1) with his mum, Charlie, plays at a Lego play innovation lab at Tower Hamlets.
What would it look like if cities and communities were intentionally designed with children and families in mind? And if every community had safe, welcoming, intergenerational spaces where families could gather, play, and connect?
What if staff across health, education, and social systems were equipped to support playful interaction and family connection? If public institutions were designed not only to deliver services, but also to foster belonging?
These are not small questions. But they are important ones.
The International Day of Play is an opportunity to recognise that play is not a luxury or an extra. It is a vital part of how children learn, how families bond, and how communities flourish. It is also a reminder that creating the conditions for play and connection is something all of us can help build together: governments, schools, nonprofits, community organisations, urban planners, brands, and neighbours alike.
We need more spaces like Dokk1. More opportunities for children and caregivers to experience joy, creativity, belonging, and connection together. More systems that make family life feel supported instead of strained.
And importantly, we need to believe that this kind of future is possible. I’ve seen what it looks like when families are given the opportunity to connect through play. I’ve seen it in libraries in Denmark, in programmes with Save the Children, and in everyday moments with my own children.
It is a reality worth building toward for all children and families.
Learn about Save the Children’s partnerships with the LEGO Group.
Find out more about Save the Children’s work to protect play and protect childhoods: The Power of a Safe Place to Play.
