Imaginative Play for Child Development

Adventure Camp is all about ditching technology and experiencing the outdoors. At our camps, kids use initiative, they learn new skills, make new friends and most importantly, have loads of fun.

We encourage kids to use their imagination through a variety of initiatives games and puzzles, we help them to engage better, enhance their social skills and inspire them to try new things without fear.

Why is imagination important for child development?

For kids, using their imagination aids in the development of social, emotional, creative and problem solving skills. Pretending can also boost your child’s self-esteem, giving them the confidence to be anything they want.

There are no limits to what a kid can dream up during imaginative play and it is a great way for children to test their boundaries, learn to control impulses and experiment with social interaction. Kids can pretend to save the world, be a mythical creature or even act out scenarios they see in their everyday life. Whatever they choose to play or pretend, they are learning and developing.

Here are some examples of how kids can develop their cognitive skills through using their imagination;

1. Thinking and problem solving: imaginative play requires all kinds of creative problem-solving, like what materials around they house they can use to build a fort, or what to do when two kids want to play the same character or role.
2. Build self confidence and develop social skills: children don’t have to worry if other kids will like them when engaging in imaginative play, because let’s face it, who doesn’t like the dragon who is the most fierce in the land, or the prince that can slay him. As children play and pretend they explore relationships with family, friends and learn about how people interact with each other through different means of communication. They learn to interpret individuals through what fun and awesome things they can think and create. Through imaginative play, they can tackle anything their fear and are more inclined to try new things.
3. Increases creativity: Creativity is instrumental to a child’s wellbeing and can also be a stress reducer. Stimulating creativity makes kids happier.
4. Kids learn new language skills: being imaginative when you play, particularly with others, is all about communication. Kids describe the situation with intricate detail and narrate what is happening, they imagine every inch of their situation and find the language to explain it. Maybe us parents can also learn a thing or two on how to better communicate with our kids.
5. Encourages independence: as kids play and connect with the world around them, they begin incorporating what they have learned throughout their everyday life. Which, in turn, gives them the freedom to take risks. This is essential to them gaining independence and encourages them to think on their feet.

Imaginative play is inclusive and invites everybody to join in. Kids learn new things about each other and make new friends. Here at Adventure Camp, we provide your children with a supportive, safe and inclusive environment where they can explore their imagination and gain more confidence.