What is Scaffolding and Why Is It Important

Scaffolding in child development and therapy

When you hear the word scaffolding, you might think of construction sites, which are temporary structures that support workers as they build.

In child development and therapy, scaffolding works the same way. Therapists use it to help children develop new skills, confidence, and independence.

If you’ve ever helped your child learn to tie their shoes, ride a bike, or work through a tricky homework problem, you’ve used scaffolding, even if you didn’t realise it at the time.

Scaffolding is about meeting children right where they are, offering the right amount of support, and gradually stepping back as they grow more confident and capable.

What is scaffolding?

Scaffolding is a way of supporting a child as they learn a new skill, cope with a challenge, or build confidence in a challenging area for them. To provide yourself with a helpful analogy, think of scaffolding as training wheels on a bike: they are attached to the bike to help with balance, but the goal is to eventually ride without them.

As therapists, we use scaffolding by:

Breaking a task into smaller, more manageable steps
Modelling a behaviour or skill before inviting the child to try it
Offering encouragement, visual aids, or simple prompts
Adjusting the level of help as the child becomes more independent

Children grow best when they feel safe, seen, and supported, but also slightly challenged. If a task feels too easy, they might get bored. If it’s too difficult, they might shut down. Scaffolding helps strike that balance. It maintains an appropriate difficulty level… not too simple, not too overwhelming.

How is scaffolding effective?

It builds trust and confidence. When a child realizes, “I can do this, even with a little help,” they start to trust in their own abilities.
It encourages independence. The goal is never to do something for the child, but to help them learn to do it on their own over time.
It supports emotional and developmental growth. Whether a child is working on speech, social skills, emotional regulation, or motor tasks, scaffolding helps them feel capable and empowered.

At the end of the day, scaffolding is about connecting with the child. It’s about saying, “I’m here with you. Let’s figure this out together.” Over time, as kids begin to develop confidence and independence, their sense of competence grows too, until the moment we can let go.

As therapists, parents, and caregivers, we’re not here to eliminate every struggle. We’re here to walk alongside our kids as they grow through them, and scaffolding is one of the most effective ways we can do just that.