A program sponsored by The Family Center of Utah Valley

Imaginative Play

Play is the work of childhood. Some parents think their children play too much, but it is more likely that adults play too little. While it may look like mere child's play to you, there's a lot of work — problem solving, skill building, overcoming physical and mental challenges — going on behind the scenes. Research indicates that children who are good at pretend play when they start Kindergarten often become good at reading and writing.

Here are some of the things your child is experiencing and learning, along with ideas on how you can help boost the benefits of his play.

Play builds the imagination
Pretending, or imaginative play, is one of the cornerstones of a young child's world. Kids begin demonstrating this behavior around the age of 2. Almost anything can spur your child's imagination, including everyday objects. When your child pushes a box across the floor and says, "vroom," he is pretending that the box is a car. This shows that he understands symbols, or how one thing can stand for another. Later, this skill will help him understand letters and numbers, which are also symbols.

Everyday objects aren't the only things that are transformed in your child's make-believe world. So are the roles he assumes in his play. He'll move from superhero to daddy to police officer with ease. By experimenting with diverse jobs and identities, he's able to explore a variety of scenarios and outcomes. Sometimes the stories he acts out reflect issues he's struggling to understand. If she's coming to terms with a new sibling, for example, she may incorporate a lot of nurturing behavior into her play, mimicking your interaction with her new brother or sister. Imaginative play gives your child a sense of control as she interprets the dramas of everyday life and practices the rules of social behavior.

How you can encourage imaginative play: Keep a box of everyday items that your child can use during pretend play. (empty containers, play money, plastic food, hats, junk mail, wrapping paper tubes, old clothes, simple props, etc. ) Kid versions of adult objects, such as play telephones and plastic dishes, help facilitate role playing, and open-ended objects (toys that can have more than one use), such as colored blocks, stretch the imagination with unlimited possibilities.

Play promotes social skills
As toddlers, children play side by side without obvious communication (this is called parallel play). During the preschool years, they start to interact with each other by creating complex story lines together. As they do this, they learn to negotiate, cooperate, and share (though some kids don't master the art of sharing until they're 4 to 6 years old). When children disagree about who gets to be the daddy or who will wear the purple dress, they develop important social skills.

How you can boost social play: Schedule playdates or set up a play group for your child and his friends. Schedule large blocks of time so your child can engage in more sophisticated forms of play. Shorter play periods reduce both the amount and the maturity of children's play, and many important benefits of play, such as persistence, negotiation, problem-solving, planning, and cooperation are lost.

Play advances physical development
Different types of physical play help develop different skills: Skipping takes balance, for example; climbing monkey bars builds strength; and sports activities involve coordination. Large motor skills, such as running, throwing, and pedaling, improve first, but fine motor skills aren't far behind. A 3-year-old carefully stacking blocks into towers is not only learning about gravity and balance but also developing hand-eye coordination. There's a nonphysical benefit of physical play too: It helps kids work through stress and crankiness. In fact, without adequate time for active play, your child may become grumpy or tense (not to mention possibly obese).

How you can promote physical play: The best way to get your child moving is to set a good example. This starts at home by engaging in physical activities rather than sedentary ones such as watching TV. Indoors, you can play hide-and-seek, toss beanbags, or play some danceable music. Outdoors, build a castle in the sandbox, kick a soccer ball back and forth, ride your bike/tricycle together.

Play helps kids work through emotions
Long before children can express their feelings in words, they express them through physical play, storytelling, art, and other activities. When children have experiences that are hurtful or hard to understand, they review those experiences again and again through play.

How you can help: During play, your child will expose little bits of behavior he needs guidance with or doesn't understand. You can respond in kind, mimicking the right type of response. And try to get your child to laugh, which will help ease tension.

Your role when playing with your child
It's helpful to allow your child to lead during play. Let your child determine what to do and how to do it within the limits of safety and time constraints. This lets him try out his judgment and allows him to show you what he's delighted in. Join in your child's play, but only when invited to do so. As he lets you into his world of make-believe, give him complete control. In real life, you may be in charge, but this is his world.

The attention you show your child when you play together is key to building his self-esteem, For example, when you pretend along with him, you are showing him that you accept his make-believe world, that something he's interested in is fun and important to you, too.

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/refcap/preschooler/pgames/64065.html, http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240,