An Introduction to Play, Imagination, and Creativity

Play, Imagination, and Creativity

Imagine a world without play, creativity, or imagination. Such a world would be dry, boring, grey, depressing, lifeless. Don’t believe me? Play, creativity and imagination form the foundation of innovation, interest, and entertainment in the world. They are responsible for the books we read, music we listen to, shows and movies we watch.

They can turn the mundane into spectacular and adventurous. They create exciting jobs and hobbies and encourage us to let go of the rigid structure of life. There is just something about these things that changes the way we experience the world and makes life just that bit interesting.

They are freeing!

Beyond that, things like play, imagination and creativity teach us about the world and society, with the potential to help us to become better people.

The ability to play, create, or imagine is something which often occurs spontaneously in childhood. Rather than being seen as pointless or just a way to pass available time, it should be nurtured and encouraged. Without these things, the interesting elements of the world would disappear into that grey, miserable picture I gave in the beginning. The children who are deprived of play would become the adults who would create that dry, depressing and lifeless world tomorrow. There would be no innovation, invention, or entertainment, and society probably wouldn't be that great of a place. Everyone would be the same.

This Issue hopes to shed a bit more light on play, creativity, and imagination so that we can learn to appreciate it a bit more.

Always Relevant

Childhood and the ability to play, imagine and create form the foundation of the world. Every human is equipped with the potential to play and explore. Play, imagination and creativity are everywhere and have value for us at every stage of life. For example, many of us, when we are bored will sketch or draw little scribbles.

Not only is this particular characteristic of children enjoyable and fun, I also find it quite awe-inspiring, and one of the places where I learn the most from children. This is something we can learn so much from and find so much joy in if only we look closely. There is something boundless and energetic about this characteristic of children that we adults can draw inspiration from.

Children seem to be the very best at imagining and breaking barriers. It is one of the elements of childhood that drew me to studying children and how and why people can go from full of life and energy as children to timid and depressed as adults. I think that it is because in many ways, the world has a way of draining that life, of squeezing the play, creativity, and imagination out of people if we’re not careful.

I believe that the fact that children think so fundamentally different from adults is one of the things that makes these things so unique. They already see the world in a different way and are more prone to be hopeful and excited, which play, imagination and creativity provide a channel for.

Why children play, create, and imagine

This one is not so clear to me, but I would say that it is merely a natural tendency of theirs with myriad benefits we have yet to discover. They can be ways of understanding and communicating with the world or the body prompting itself to explore and develop. Since children may not always be the most verbally eloquent, these can help them to express themselves how they see fit without restriction.

Play, creativity, or imagination are not about being smart or demonstrating talent. When a child is engaged in this, they are not focused on how good and perfect it is, therefore, we should not be. In fact, it is the breaking of boundaries that makes this so beneficial to them. It is more about letting them explore and test their understanding of the world.

There are a number of books which discuss the minds of young children and how they see the world through their play, creativity, and imagination. One that I really like is called Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. It is about a young girl who despite having witnessed so much trauma has a wide imagination and sees the world differently to everyone else. She is able to see the good in so much and be encouraged through any circumstance. I would like to believe that they do this for children. Play and imagination bring joy to the child. While they can get lost in it sometimes, and need someone to safely steer them back to reality, they are often benefitting from it in some way.

Some of the Benefits for Children

Play, imagination and creativity are important in so many ways and have a lot of value in children’s overall development. They are constantly working together and are far more powerful than they seem on the surface. Here are some areas where they are valuable:

Breaking Boundaries: For a child, play, imagination and creativity, allow them to expand their worlds. They can break boundaries and shape new ones without restriction. They allow children to understand what is possible and explore what isn’t. They allow children to hope in the possibilities of what life could be and expand their thinking.

They can help to free a lonely child from loneliness or take a child temporarily out of their current difficult circumstance as a place of safety and rest. I have often seen children who are begging on the side of the road occupying themselves with play. Play, imagination, and creativity open up a world of possibility to the young child, where they can be free and be anyone who they want to be.

This can have multiple emotional safeguarding elements for them, providing a channel to release what they are feeling. It can also give more hope for the future and plant a seed for future innovations and ambitions.

Overall Development: This has amazing benefits for brain development, especially cognitive development. The ability to think, focus, problem-solve are all assisted in the processes of play, imagination and creativity, and these things can even give us an indicator of how the child is developing – how they’re thinking and understanding the world.

There are also amazing social development benefits as certain forms of play, imagination and creativity allow space for children's emotional development and learning healthy interactions with other people. When done with, or regulated by, caregivers, it is also a simple, important way of bonding.

Physical development can also benefit here. Whether it is an activity that gets their body outside and moving (gross motor skills), or making up a story or song, or learning to grip a pencil as they colour in (fine motor skills), their brain and body are learning and getting stronger.

Self-confidence: Children learn to express themselves and navigate themselves and their places in the world through playing, imagining, and creating. They encourage children to explore the world around them and not be so fearful of life. They encourage children to explore their interests and themselves, and, when done socially can even encourage social development and social interaction. They help to establish a child more firmly in who they are.

Benefits to Us

Besides keeping children occupied while adults are busy, play, imagination and creativity have other benefits for us. Psychologists have been looking to them for many years to understand the child’s experience of the world and help them navigate in the safety of it. Because children process their emotions and the world differently (Issue 6), and are still not very good at expressing themselves, other methods give a better insight into them.

For example, many types of psychologists do something called Draw a Person (DAP) or Draw a Family (DAF). This task, asking a child to simply imagine and draw these things, can give valuable insight into how they feel about and see themselves. There are ways of analysing this, for example, the size of the person, where on the paper they are drawn, any elements emphasised. Similarly with DAF, they can give an idea into a child’s understanding and experience of what a family looks like and is.

Another method psychologists use is play therapy. Play therapy is often used with younger children and children who are not comfortable enough to express how they feel. But by getting lost in the world of play, they may act out scenarios or give their toys personalities and stories which align with what they are seeing and experiencing in the real world. Through play, therapists can help children open up, navigate, and heal from experiences.

Therefore, I encourage any caregivers to pay attention to how their children play, create or act out their imaginations. There is often a lot more there. This is not to say that there is something in everything, rather, where you see habits that aren’t healthy, address them, but where you may see something that is good emerging, encourage and nurture it. They can give you more insight into children than words could.

Breaking Boundaries

I have spoken a lot about breaking boundaries and how good they can be for children, but let me emphasise that breaking boundaries is not giving children license to do anything and everything simply because they are learning in some way. While I have said a lot about them, I will continue to emphasise that it is not good to leave children to participate in these things alone or without supervision. Children will always need supervision and guidance, perhaps if they are doing something wrong. This does not mean that one should hover over children and not let them explore. Rather, it means that not every form of play, imagining or creativity is safe or acceptable. Children can act out in safety, but certain things cannot or should not translate to the real world, so children should be made aware of that. Breaking boundaries is more about the brain learning to think in new and creative ways than it is about doing whatever one wants.

The Takeaway

These three aspects: play, creativity, and imagination are all interlinked and a crucial part of children’s development. They give us insight into the child’s world, so I encourage you to encourage them.

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