Playtime: Let’s Pretend

Imaginative play is a valuable life-long skill learnt through childhood but utilised for the rest of your life. Sara Whatley explores how to ignite that creativity 

We got a brilliant book out of the library recently about a child who complains of being bored, and her very wise parents tellher that’s fantastic news as being bored comes right before a really exciting idea. Low and behold, she soon zooms off into space in a cardboard rocket. 

Allowing children to get bored, or at least have some gentle down time from highly stimulating activities, such as screens, allows their imaginations to meander and eventually ignite. If there is nothing to do, they will soon create something! 

To encourage children to access their imaginations it might be helpful to provide some gentle stimulation. This could take the form of setting out a selection of activities such as dressing up, clay modelling, sports equipment, musical instruments, or junk modelling. You could also try giving them word prompts that they pick from a jar – pirate, kitchen, dance show, spy etc. One prompt might be enough or let themkeep picking until they find something that excites and inspires their imagination. 

Open ended materials and toys (playthings that don’t have a single predetermined use) tend to allow their imaginations to flourish, often in unexpected and delightful ways. 

Combining toys together can sometimes create a new and exciting opportunity as well. Sometimes it’s good to go with the child’s desires, such as playing fairies in the woods again and again, but other times you may want to challenge them to experience something new, such as playing buses. This might be a new scenario for them, especially if they have never been on a bus, but by exploring through imaginative play they learn about it in a safe and creative way. The parent or caregiver can help set the scene by setting up a line of chairs, making some paper money, and checking the passenger’s tickets. 

As their imaginative play starts to develop at around the age of 18 months to 2 years, children may enjoy playing with dolls, learning about feeding, cleaning and caring for them (and themselves) as they develop. Imaginative play accompanies children through middle childhood and usually up to pre-teen, sometimes longer sometimes shorter, helping them to become confident and curious people. Older children and teens can still engage with their imaginations through books, films, video games, music and any number of other hobbies and interests. 

Once that foundation has been set – the core elements of imaginative play can become a life-long asset. It enhances subjects and activities we engage with right through to adulthood – such as creative writing, art, drama, tech, design and garden, cooking, craftwork skills, and role play board or video games. Once your imagination has been fired up, there is no turning it off.