It’s not unusual for parents, guardians, and teachers to place a lot of emphasis on the importance of intellectual abilities in their children and understandably so. Nurturing intellectual capabilities in children pave the way for a stable future and opens doors to many opportunities in the future.
However, creative skills are as important and what many don’t realize is that creativity is the birthplace of intelligence and ingenuity.
In this article we talk about the importance of encouraging your child to engage in creative activities and how this contributes to their overall cognitive function and development.
One of the best ways to nurture creativity in children is to encourage them to engage in creative play. Children have a natural ability to imagine a world beyond the physical limitations of their environment and it doesn’t take much to get them there – we just need to let them be children.
Part of creative play is using imagination to conjure up stories, scenarios, and outcomes based on whatever is happening in their minds and using open-ended toys helps them to create a fantasy world with no rules or regulations.
Creative play benefits developing children in the following ways:
Open-ended play with peers allows children to interact with and learn from each other in an unlimited number of ways. Through interaction with others, they can pick up on social cues, vocabulary, and other important social skills which they may not be learning from their teachers or parents – children think, speak, and interact differently to adults. Children also learn to share when playing with their friends, which is an important skill for any child to learn.
Children don’t only learn from each other in important ways. When they are left to play on their own, with no expectations placed on the outcome, they will engage in conversations with themselves and the toys they are playing with. This improves language and communication skills which prepare them for real-life conversations and interactions.
Open-ended play allows children to create imaginary scenarios which are often based on their actual experiences. In doing so, they have the opportunity to work through important feelings and emotions which they may struggle with in real life.
Although it is important to help your children identify, understand, and process their emotions by engaging in safe, honest conversations with you, it’s equally important to give them the opportunity to find comfortable ways to do this without your help. Children need a positive, judgment-free outlet for expressing their emotions as much as adults do, and creative play is a sure way to achieve this.
Motor skills are one of the most important things for your child to learn as it helps them figure out how to move their bodies and improves spatial awareness. In other words, children with well-developed motor skills are less clumsy and will also have the ability to successfully engage in a wide range of activities such as art and sport.
Creative play builds intellectual skills. Through imaginative play, your child learns how to problem solve. Problem solving skills are important for day-to-day life and can help your child work through difficult situations with ease. Creative play encourages curiosity in children, and through curiosity, solutions can be found. This can be used in a wide range of applications during adulthood and is an important skill to have in the workplace. Ultimately, creative play can provide a sturdy foundation for ingenuity.
Encouraging children to be creative forms a fundamental part of their development and can help build a bright, positive future for them.
In our next article, we will discuss some ideas for creative play that you can encourage your child to engage in.
Our Educare Centre in Mowbray focuses on early childhood development through creative play among other activities. To find out more, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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