One of the great joys of my life is watching my little granddaughter make up games and use her imagination – imaginative play seems to come so naturally to little people, particularly from toddler stage onwards. I can’t help myself from encouraging imaginative play. It’s an instinctive reaction to situations throughout every day.
Why do kids need imaginative play?
Letting kids explore the world imaginatively, like playing firefighting or classrooms, turning a table into a fort or dressing up, helps children understand the word around them. Through imaginative play they learn to:
- solve problems
- learn to cooperate and share with others
- work through new experiences or life issues
- think flexibly
- learn to see alternate perspectives and points of view
Letting children lead imaginative play
When my youngest granddaughter started playing with cars, I just watched her behaviour. I keep a box of cars that belonged to my sons – yes, real vintage Matchbox cars. She started pulling the box off the shelf and examining each car before placing it onto the floor. She then put them all back in the box and moved on to her next activity– whatever caught her eye.
As the weeks passed, I showed her how to load the cars onto the vehicle carrier trucks and how to push them along the ground – with sound effects; VROOM. I could almost see her mind constructing scenarios.
So I introduced some recycled cardboard props to the playmat. A city scene, a set of wild animals and a small empty tissue box as the garage. Her imagination was fired up and she was babbling away and moving her cars and props around. I let her guide the game and play the way she wants to.
Participate in imaginary play
One of the most important things you can do to help your child get the most out of imaginative play is to spend time and energy actually playing with them. Let them make you a pretend cup of tea (ask for a drop of milk, or for them to ‘make’ you some yummy biscuits to go with it!) or throw a sheet over the dining table to turn it into a cave! Stimulate their imaginations by taking them to new places: the zoo, the botanical gardens or the beach. When you get home, talk about what you saw and play pretend. Are you roaring like a lion, climbing tall trees or jumping the waves? Encourage their imagination and creativity – and remember to let them be in charge!
Props are great for encouraging different kinds of imaginative play, such as:
- dress-up clothes like hats, gloves and scarves
- old crockery and cutlery (nothing sharp or breakable though!)
- artificial flowers
- dolls, puppets and stuffed toys
Good for kids and good for us
It’s so inspiring and such a privilege, as a mother and now a grandmother, to witness children explore the world in this way. Spending time with a young child is the perfect way to stretch your imagination muscles – mine get a good workout these days!
What are some of your favourite ways to encourage imaginative play with the children in your life? Let me know, I’d love to hear your ideas!
