Child’s Play

Children can have the brightest imaginations if we allow them to. As a parent or caregiver it is important to foster creativity in children throughout the day. As it is our job to care for children, it is their job to learn and most children do this best through play. Some schools even teach on the basis of play because they believe the creative personality is developed during the young years of life and is very difficult to develop later in life. Just remember: some of the messiest messes get cleaned up by toddlers because someone turned the clean up into a game.

Ways to foster creativity
Lead by example: My daughter loves it when I sing. Sometimes my lines rhyme but sometimes they don’t…whatever I sing she thinks its funny, especially when I do motions or faces too. I couldn’t write my songs here for you to have because they are never the same and I don’t remember them after they are done…So go ahead, sing away because you are a star in your child’s eyes.

When you get the water colors or markers out, make time to sit down and make a couple of paintings or drawings with your child. They will love to see what you come up with and its a great time to talk about colors or how it feels to paint and you will be creating memories. Don’t worry about “finding” something in your child’s drawing or asking them if they know how to draw a particular picture. Just encourage their creativity and tell them they are an artist.

Pretend play: Toddlers and young children also love to pretend. When they are role-playing, go along with the act. My little girl will come up to me with a receipt and ask me what I want on my food. My response is something that I might say to a restaurant server with a few twists for humor. She runs into her kitchen and prepares something for me. I give it a few pretend chomps, tell her how tasty it is and she runs off again. Your little one might be an animal, a chef, a princess, a fairy, a fireman and a superhero all in one day. Once again, children learn while they are playing.

Dress up is a classic past time for kids of all ages…even adults still have costume parties. Help your child’s imagination grow with dress up clothes. You can find old halloween costumes, make some of your own (since they are only for play, sewing skills can be very minimal), look for dress up clothes (dancewear, leotards, tutus, etc.) at yard sales and thrift shops. Dress up clothes are perfect for tea parties, princess or pirate parties and at halloween your kids will have lots of choices.

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Television: Turn it off and open a book. Television robs us of our imagination…while reading a book you have to think up exactly what is going on…reading requires your brain to work instead of sitting idle. Personally, we don’t have cable, just movies on dvd and vhs. It’s so much easier to not plop down on the couch when there isn’t something quick to turn on but you end up there for 2 hours. And a big bonus you get when shutting off the tv is a huge reduction in commercialization…now maybe the kids will go outside and play. For watching TV Shop at ShopPBS.org

Some ways to turn work into playtime
Make cleaning up a race
Create a funny song to along with what you are trying to accomplish
Set up bins to toss toys into - like a basketball game

Enjoy the time with your children, they are blessings and this is a time to cherish.