IN Cranberry Summer 2018 | Page 35

INDUSTRY INSIGHT
PARENTING
SPONSORED CONTENT
Five
Benefits of
Imaginative
Play
I
maginative play benefits the growth of the cerebellum. This part
of the brain is “responsible for key cognitive functions such as
attention, language processing, sensing musical rhythms, and
more” (Brown & Vaughan, 2009, p. 34). Here are five other benefits of
imaginative play for children.
1. Play fosters the development of imagination. Imaginative play
encourages children to be anything they want to be. This
anything-goes thinking allows them to come up with ideas that
they might not think about in a more structured environment.
2. It encourages the development of problem-solving skills.
Problem solving requires the ability to think creatively.
Imaginative play involves experimenting with different activities,
such as building with blocks or sculpting with modeling clay
(White, 2015). Engaging in these playful activities helps children
become more creative, which gives them the ability to solve
different problems (Roskos & Christie, 2000).
3. Play allows a child to fail without consequences. For example,
when children play house, they imagine themselves as parents
or spouses. They learn from those scenarios without dealing
with negative consequences. Imaginative play, in other words,
gives children the freedom to fail and try again without feeling
defeated (Lillemyr, 2009).
4. It encourages social-emotional development. When
pretending to be, say, a mother or a father, the child must
imagine being in that person’s shoes. As a result, the child learns
to interact and think about things as a parent, which helps the
child become empathetic and practice language that is more in a
parent’s vocabulary than a child’s.
5. It helps children unwind. Unstructured imaginative play gives
children the opportunity to be in their own world for a while
without worrying about anything except playing and having fun.
This Industry Insight was written by Dina & Matt Speranza.
They are the owners of The Goddard School® located at 8065
Rowan Road in Cranberry. Goddard offers both full- and
part-time infant/preschool/kindergarten programs. For more
information, visit www.goddardschool.com/Pittsburgh or call
724.778.9999.
References
Brown, S., & Vaughan, C. (2009). Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the
imagination, and invigorates the soul. New York, NY: Avery.
Lillemyr, O. F. (2009). Taking play seriously: Children and play in early childhood
education—An exciting challenge. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Roskos, K. A., & Christie, J. F. (2000). Play and literacy in early childhood:
Research from multiple perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
White, R. E. (2015). The power of play: A research summary on play
and learning. Retrieved from http://www.childrensmuseums.org/images/
MCMResearchSummary.pdf
RESEARCHERS SAY
LEARNING THROUGH
PLAY IS THE ONLY WAY.
> FREE REGISTRATION!*
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP • 724-778-9999
PITTSBURGH (DOWNTOWN) • 412-515-1997
GoddardSchool.com
*Offer valid for new Goddard families at the above location only. Some program restrictions apply. Not valid with any other offer.
The Goddard Schools are operated by independent franchisees under a license agreement with Goddard Systems, Inc.
Programs and ages may vary. Goddard Systems, Inc. program is AdvancED accredited. © Goddard Systems Inc. 2016.
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