Children who engage in creative and active play may grow up to be healthier adults.

The finding comes from a British study that asked 505 young adults to describe their health and their childhood play experiences.

Playing is one of the cornerstones of a young child’s world. Play builds imagination, promotes social skills, advances physical development, and allows a child to work through emotions.

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Play is serious business!

After hitting the 18-month mark, your child’s creative expressions will be more noticeable compared to when she was a baby. Now that she’s a toddler, language skills are emerging. So she might grab a toy bucket, put it on her head and call it a “hat.”

At around 2 to 3 years old your child will be showing her own “style” and even a certain level of inventiveness. For my son, it started showing with a preference for certain music and how he would dance to it, or pretend to be a drummer. For my daughter, it was showing her own — very strong — preferences for clothes. Think, tutu in the playground and long formal dress to the grocery! Experts tell us why we should encourage the silliness.

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Sparking the imagination is more important than ABC and 123 drills.

Most parents put a premium on jump starting their baby’s numeracy or literacy. But child development experts will tell you, it is more crucial to let them start exercising their creativity at this stage. They’ll get to their letters and numbers, which are of course important for school, but hone in on their creativity first.

Creativity will help your child become more flexible and resilient. It also practices problem solving skills. This is especially important for our 21st Century kids! You can actually start honing creativity as early as birth to the toddler years. We’ll tell you why and how.

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