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How imagination, unstructured play are vital to early childhood development

Oct 11, 2024, 1:52 PM | Updated: 5:13 pm

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS – Allowing your children time to explore and play freely is just as important as more structured activities.

Mom Alex Thayer has seen the benefits of allowing her boys to run around and explore when they take walks together on a favorite trail.

“They can run around and be free and make messes,” she said. “I think it’s great for their creativity, for their imagination. We don’t bring toys with us. They are using, you know, sticks and rocks and leaves and coming up with games to play.”

She is always nearby to make sure they’re safe, but said it’s important to let her sons lead the way when they’re out in nature.

Free play is not only fun. It helps children develop important skills, like problem solving.

“With the sticks, they might need to figure out how to get it into the water. And that may sound like a minimal problem but for kids. That still a problem,” said Dr. Ilse DeKoeyer, childhood development specialist at Help Me Grow Utah and associate professor in psychology at the University of Utah.

She said allowing time for imagination is crucial for a child’s development. And is easily practiced through unstructured play.

“We have been taking too much of the time to structure and so that makes kids more dependent and less creative when they don’t have that opportunity to explore on their own,” DeKoeyer said.

Unstructured play can also help young children learn about their emotions.

“Curiosity, wonder, if it’s pretend play,” she said.

DeKoeyer suggested parents let their children come up with their own activities daily – either outdoors or inside, and ask questions to get them thinking.

“If you want to build a fort in the living room, how are you going to build that? How is it going to stay stuck, you know?” she said.

Thayer encouraged other parents to give unstructured play a try.

“You can bring them to a park, let them run free,” she said. “And it’s fun for everyone.”

For more ideas and resources on how to get your child excited about unstructured play, click here.

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How imagination, unstructured play are vital to early childhood development