As parents, we often feel the need to structure and dictate play for our children. We provide them with games, puzzles and toys that have a singular function – one must play with them the ‘right way’ in order to be successful. We hover and help but the question must be asked – are we hindering?
This kind of play may limit children into a ‘win or fail’ mindset. There is no option but to follow the instructions on the packet. There is no room for movement, creativity or deviation from the rules. There is no room for individuality of expression or intent. We teach our children that there is only one way to do things and we rob them of the opportunity to think outside of the box.
But what if there is another way?
Why Creative Play for Children?
There are untold benefits when it comes to creative play for children. Providing an atmosphere of unstructured joy, where anything goes, can create a growth mindset for little ones.
Suddenly, anything is possible. Any combination, structure or shape can be changed and fashioned into something new. Opportunities present themselves whereas previously there were only barriers. When the rules fly out the window, what’s left is the malleable capacity for growth and change.
What Does Unstructured Play Look Like?
Here are some suggestions for promoting unstructured, creative play in your own home.
Nature and Sustainability Activities
Allow your child to experience nature. That sounds so simple, but we unwittingly spend so much of our time cooped up indoors with screens. We forget the world of creativity that awaits us in our own backyards.
Help your children uncover the wonder and magic of growing plants and vegetables. Allow them to get grubby with mud play, digging in soil, playing with water and everything in between.
Unstructured, creative play harkens back to our own childhoods, when grazed knees and dirty fingernails were far more commonplace than they are today. Plan adventures to parks and open, green spaces. Watch for birds, insects and critters. Adventure with your children to spaces that allow for freedom of movement and sparks of creativity. There is so much joy to be had in the great outdoors, and so much to appreciate about sustainable practices.
Wooden Toys
Choosing organic, nature-based products to help shape your child’s creative play journey open the door to a world of imaginative adventure.
Wooden toys often create the opportunities our children are calling out for in terms of unstructured play. Regardless of age, blocks and other wooden toys can take on lives of their own in the hands of an inquisitive child. They don’t run out of batteries, they’re durable and they look simply gorgeous. There are no ‘right or wrong’ ways to play with these toys – they’re open-ended and promote cognitive engagement on a higher scale.
Drama, Imagination and Creativity
Dress ups, soft toys and a couple of blankets can become a stage that’s set to put on a spectacular play. Role playing mummies and daddies and building cubbies and forts never go out of style. This unstructured, creative play can help bring about social-emotional engagement, paving the way for the improvement of their abilities to interact and work cohesively with others, now and into adulthood.
The Benefits of Creative Play for Children
There is so much more to life than screens and the not-so-great indoors. Allowing your children to engage in creative, open-ended play means that they are not only having fun but engaging in rich, real and relevant developmental work. And, as an added bonus, you might just get some down-time for yourself!
