If you are familiar with my blog or if you have used my parent coaching services, you know that one of my favorite topics is play. Play has many benefits from fostering children's development, cognitive skills, social skills, academic skills and strengthening the relationship between parent and child. It can even reduce behavioral problems.
According to Alex Speigal in this NPR article Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills imaginative play helps children develop the ability to self regulate which can help children, "control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline." Yet, "Despite the evidence of the benefits of imaginative play, however, even in the context of preschool young children's play is in decline."
So what can we do as parents to preserve imaginative play and encourage our children to engage in it?
* Limit organized activities and reserve time for free play. Organized activities have positive benefits for children as well, but too many can limit the opportunities for imaginative play.
* Create a play space that encourages imaginative play. Limit the number of toys in your child's play space. Too many toys in one space can actually limit a child's ability to play creatively. Choose toys that encourage role play such as costumes. Or better yet, let your child turn ordinary household items into magic wands, telescopes or microphones.
* Follow your child's lead in play. When your child leads the play he is more likely to use his imagination. Adults tend to give directions, insert their ideas about how things "should" be played. In this way we interfere with the child's imaginative process and ability to develop important thinking skills.
* Let your child make up the rules to games. There is plenty of time for your daughter to learn the rules. For now, let her make them up and create her own game.
* For more information and tips on play read my blogs on play.
"It seems that in the rush to give children every advantage — to protect them, to stimulate them, to enrich them — our culture has unwittingly compromised one of the activities that helped children most. All that wasted time was not such a waste after all." ~ Alex Spiegel
According to Alex Speigal in this NPR article Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills imaginative play helps children develop the ability to self regulate which can help children, "control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline." Yet, "Despite the evidence of the benefits of imaginative play, however, even in the context of preschool young children's play is in decline."
So what can we do as parents to preserve imaginative play and encourage our children to engage in it?
* Limit organized activities and reserve time for free play. Organized activities have positive benefits for children as well, but too many can limit the opportunities for imaginative play.
* Create a play space that encourages imaginative play. Limit the number of toys in your child's play space. Too many toys in one space can actually limit a child's ability to play creatively. Choose toys that encourage role play such as costumes. Or better yet, let your child turn ordinary household items into magic wands, telescopes or microphones.
* Follow your child's lead in play. When your child leads the play he is more likely to use his imagination. Adults tend to give directions, insert their ideas about how things "should" be played. In this way we interfere with the child's imaginative process and ability to develop important thinking skills.
* Let your child make up the rules to games. There is plenty of time for your daughter to learn the rules. For now, let her make them up and create her own game.
* For more information and tips on play read my blogs on play.
"It seems that in the rush to give children every advantage — to protect them, to stimulate them, to enrich them — our culture has unwittingly compromised one of the activities that helped children most. All that wasted time was not such a waste after all." ~ Alex Spiegel
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