Creative Play for Toddlers and its Effects on Growth and Development

Creative thinking is settled as the ability to come up with various innovative ideas, artworks, do basic problem solving skills and constitute unique thoughts based on one’s own personal approach. Creativity and Intelligence are often associated with one another but little do we know, these are two different characteristics that are both important for a growing child.

Children are naturally creative and questioning when it comes to the surroundings and people they constantly encounter. They tend to ask too many questions and come up with strange ideas that most adults fail to understand and acknowledge. Parents should be ready to deal with their children's curiosity and find this as an opportunity in contributing to their child's knowledge and stimulating their imagination which is more advantageous for kids at this point .

Creative play for toddlers is highly suggested for children ages 18 months to four years. At this stage, toddlers have improved hand and eye coordination. They are able to express their personal identity through pasting, tearing, piercing, printing, modeling clay and working with any materials to create collages and artworks. Patience is the key for parents to be able to understand their kids and encourage them to develop their skills further as they tend to discover more out of their environment.

At the age of one year onwards, toddlers love to replicate activities that most adults do and they start looking to distinguish themselves with pretend plays which is also one way in expressing one’s creativity and imagination. Research shows that children that are very active when it comes to pretend plays are proved to be more spontaneous, original and can considerably set to new situations presented to them. Parents should encourage their children to be intricate in creative play by lending them materials like dressing-up clothes, dolls and pretend play toys that will allow them to memorize and enjoy their very own make believe fantasy.

Parents and significant others must be able to recognize the uniqueness of their child from other kids and understand the importance of being supportive to boost their kid's self esteem . Most children, at this point of development, rely on other people’s approval and appreciation in order to gratify themselves with the feeling of self sufficiency and autonomy. The idea of creative play develops a more independent individual and tends to make them less susceptible to peer pressure as they grow up . They become more open and surefooted when it comes to their own ideas and opinions that will eventually give them the opportunity to achieve their optimum level of mental and emotional development.