Creative Play - Sparks your Child's Imagination

Providing your child an assortment of dress up clothes encourages your child's imagination and prepares them for the real world. Kids naturally enjoy playing make believe and enjoy the excitement of transforming into Doctors, Nurses, Princesses, Chefs, Fire Fighters and Knights. By role playing they learn self expression, problem solving skills and encourages their imagination.

Here are 5 ideas of how you can encourage your child's imagination with role play and dressing up.

Pretend to be a Mailman: What is more exciting to kids then getting mail? Take a couple of cardboard boxes or baskets and turn them into mailboxes. Give your child some junk mail or old papers and let them draw pictures and "mail" them to you.

School Time Small children love to play school - set up "desks" which can be as simple as your living room coffee tables, card tables etc. Provide your child with an old backpack that is filled with crayons, paper, books and other school supplies and letting your child "teach" you.

Grocery Store
Simply take a few cans out of your cupboard and arrange them around on your kitchen table or a bookshelf. Provide your child with a calculator and a toy shopping cart or a basket if you don't have a cart and let them "shop".

Playing Doctor or Nurse
Perhaps your child is a bit apprehensive about an upcoming doctors visit or surgery. Help them work through their fears by role playing doctor/nurse and patient with them. Our realistic Doctor costumes are perfect for this occasion with a real working stethoscope, white lab coat, scrubs and scrub booties, hat and mask. By letting your child dress up as the doctor will help him work through his fears and allow you to talk about the upcoming procedure in your child's most comfortable and relaxed atmosphere - during play. Provide your child with a clipboard and some papers for it. Gather up an old bag and fill it with doctors "tools" small empty bottles for "medicine", some cotton balls, popsicle sticks, and toliet paper for "bandaging" their patients,

Play Movie Theater
Many dollar stores sell the infamous red and white striped boxes with Popcorn written on the side. Pick up a package of those, pop some microwave popcorn, pull up a table and let your child stand behind the counter and "sell" you some popcorn, drinks and tickets to the movie. Then gather some comfortable chairs or throw a blanket down for the movie theater. Pop in your family's favorite video - turn off the lights and give your child a flashlight to "check" your tickets before entering the theater.

I hope these ideas help you foster your child's imagination today. Keep checking back, as we are gearing up to write several articles on how creative play sparks your child's imagination and ideas of how to encourage natural, creative play.