Greenspan Floortime is Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s play-based, relationship-driven approach to child development. Caregivers follow the child’s lead through joyful interaction to build the foundational capacities of attention, engagement, two-way communication, and thinking.
Incidental Floortime refers to the developmental interactions that happen naturally throughout the day — during meals, baths, car rides, and bedtime routines. These spontaneous moments of engagement create hundreds of additional circles of communication each day, making them just as important as structured sessions.
Parents can practice Floortime all day by treating every routine interaction as an opportunity to open and close circles of communication. Make getting dressed a game, narrate playfully during bath time, follow the child’s cues at mealtimes. Every moment of warm, two-way interaction counts as Floortime.
Dr. Greenspan recommended multiple dedicated sessions of 20-30 minutes plus as much incidental Floortime as possible woven into daily routines. The total circles of communication generated across the day — in sessions AND incidental interactions — drives developmental progress. Consistency and volume both matter.