At Kidbitious, we support the ambitions of kids by sharing ways for them to gain essential life skills. Did you know that creative play can help?
Besides being fun, allowing kids to be creative can provide them with mental and physical development. For more details on how, here are 4 reasons why creative play can benefit kids for the long term.
1. Contribute to Physical Development
Picking up a pencil to draw or crayon to color supports hand and eye coordination in kids. This process of developing fine motor skills can help them improve their agility, writing skills, and ability to do day-to-day tasks.
Since creative play also involves exploring their environment and activities such as dancing and acting, it encourages neural connections that allow kids to have better:
- Hand and finger strength
- Movement control
- Balance
- Spatial awareness
2. Improve Mental Growth
There are many ways creative play supports mental growth. For starters, it helps kids with self-expression. Sometimes kids find it hard to express their emotions in words. Instead, drawing or painting can provide an emotional outlet and alternative way to process their feelings.
If emotions are too overwhelming, studies have shown that using drawing to distract kids from negative thoughts and feelings can help improve their mood. Studies in adults have also found a strong connection between emotional intelligence (EI) and creativity at work.
3. Develop Problem-Solving Abilities
Life is all about making choices and being comfortable with uncertainty. Through creative play, kids get an opportunity to practice decision-making, coming up with conclusions, and evaluating the results of their play or creations.
Creativity and using imagination is also an important part of the thinking process. Kids will have a better capacity to think outside the box and combine two unrelated ideas in a new way. These abilities are the foundations of problem-solving.
The stronger their skills are in decision making and using imagination to come up with solutions, the easier it will be for them to think on their feet later in life. Problem-solving will feel less like a challenge and more like a creative game to tackle!
4. Boost Self-Esteem
Being a kid can be difficult in today's society, where they can easily compare themselves to others online. One way to help your kid boost their self-esteem is through the arts. Practicing creativity and having a tangible product or skill at the end to be proud of helps kids feel confident.
A study has also found that kids don't have to be good at art to reap the benefits. Simply engaging in the arts and nurturing their ideas into a creation helps with self-esteem.
Encourage Creative Play Today!
Creative play goes beyond just painting or making arts and crafts. You can also engage your kids in music, dance, acting, or culinary arts. With these four reasons why it can be beneficial for them in the long run, encourage your kids to get creative today!
Download and print free coloring resources to get started. You can also purchase our:
- Coloring E-Book for more coloring pages
- Coloring and Activities Book for additional activities that support mental development in kids
Summary
Download A Summary Infographic
