By Katelyn Fry

It goes without saying that one of the key experiences of childhood is play. Play supports a
child’s cognitive, emotional, social, physical, communication and creative skill development. And now, there is new research that suggests one particular type of play is best for helping develop their creativity: fantasy play.

A recent study by Dr. Louise Bunce of Oxford Brookes University in England found that there is a correlation between fantasy play and creative skills. For her experiment, Dr. Bunce divided play into three modes of pretend play: play that mimicked real life, like having a tea party or pretending to be a teacher; play that was highly unlikely in reality, like fighting a lion and being unharmed or going to school in a helicopter; and pretend play that was utterly impossible, like going to wizarding school or playing with an elf.

Dr. Bunce proceeded to have the 70 children, between the ages of four and eight, do three different tasks as a means of assessing their levels of creativity. First, the children were asked to think of as many things possible that are the color red. Next, the children had to come up with as many ways as possible to get from points A to B across the room. And finally, the children had to draw a picture of their idea of a “real” person and a “pretend” person.

The research team found that children with higher degrees of fantasy play also had the highest scores in creative thinking for all three tasks. “These results provide encouraging evidence for parents and teachers [and aunts!] who could consider encouraging children to engage in fantasy play as one way to develop their creative thinking skill,” Dr. Bunce concluded.

And that’s where we come in. The next visit you have with your nieces and nephews, instead of breaking out the blocks, puzzles or coloring books, dress up in costumes, bring out props, and start a story/adventure together. Or, perhaps go for a walk and imagine together that the stick they find on the ground turns into a magic wand. Maybe the dog is really a dragon, or the playground is actually a different planet. Or, perhaps instead of reading them a bedtime story, you and your nieces and nephews take turns coming up with stories together.

Big Magic of Play

No one is better suited for this type of play than us Savvy Aunties. Renown author of Big Magic and Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, said it best when she described the role of the aunt during a 2010 interview with Savvy Auntie founder, Melanie Notkin: “Everything you do with them is special because you don’t have an ordinary, quotidian, daily routine with them. So when you get to see them, it’s about them. Whereas general parental time – because of the obligation to raise a responsible citizen and a good human being – so much of it is about the things that must be done every day. And a lot of that falls away when you step into the world of an auntie.”

Gilbert added: “It’s a great relief to [her then young niece] that I’m her aunt and only hers and that we belong to each other in that very special way… it’s a really important thing for kids to feel like that and I think one of the reasons why aunties are so important is because every child needs a responsible, loving, caring, adoring adult who is not a parent where they can go visit and be safe and be loved and be cared for. And that’s also where they can practice expressing different sides of their personality, in a new environment that’s got different rules but the same amount of boundaries of love.”

So the next time you see your nieces and nephews, take advantage of the opportunity to enable them to take risks with their playtime. The possibilities for fantasy are endless, and their creativity is there, just waiting to be untapped. Fantasy play is the ultimate way for them to develop their creativity, and simultaneously, the perfect way for you to bond!

Photo: CHOReograPH
Published: September 20, 2016