I was reading a report by Alix Spiegel, aired on NPR yesterday morning, called Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills. He talked about the development of children stemming mainly from imaginative play.  A type of play that is declining more and more. Spiegel states that imaginative play teaches the necessary skill of self-regulation.

"Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline." Read the article here.

The article highlights that toys and items are more of a focus now when children play then the action of play itself.  The use of the imagination to create a world of play allows the child to learn rules, obstacles and solutions to problems, all through creativity. With schools cutting back recreational play and emphasizing testings along with structured play like sport, dance, art lessons, imaginative play has declined and children are missing out on prolonged play that builds needed skills such as self-regulation.

Along the same front, just this past Sunday, there was an article in the New York Times which focused on the same aspect of play and development in children, called Taking Play Seriously. They take a more in-depth look at different elements of play.

At the Museum's Discovery Forum this year we had our own speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, who spoke about creativity and learning, his speech can be found here. He inspired many of the attendees, one woman even wrote about the impact she felt about it on her blog. Learning can come from everywhere and not just in the classroom and books.  He reminds us that, as children, there are no boundaries to what we are capable of.

As a child I used to play zoo in my cousin's basement.  We were all animals and as a group we created a zoo keeper, visitors and rules about staying in our "cages." We didn't know we were learning self-regulation while we played. We just knew we were having fun.

Try to let your child play without any toys around.  Outside or inside, with others or alone, and watch as they start to use their imaginations to create a world of play.  You'll be amazed at what they come up with.

This entry was posted on February 22, 2008 and is filed under Jaisette Herrera.
Tagged: parents, creativity
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