Imaginative Play Essay

In life, no action is absent of a reaction. Every effect is linked to a cause, whether seen or unseen and play is no exception. As adults, play is not a foreign concept to us, we just chose not to engage in it and have diminutive space for it reserved in our day-to-day schedules. However, it is essential in the lives of young children. In the moment, the benefits to play are invisible, yet they are there working. Play, like a Newton’s cradle, remains stationary while not in use and the energy remains in a potential state waiting to be activated. Now, imagine the Newton’s cradle as you are pulling back the first ball. The first ball is play in a child’s life, and the other balls are potential benefits. As the first ball slips from your grasp slamming into the other stationary balls, the energy in the object transforms from a reserved potential energy into a reactive kinetic energy. Likewise, as play begins, a child’s mind becomes kinetic like the swinging balls of a Newton’s cradle and the benefits come swinging

For instance, “actual studies have demonstrated cognitive benefits such as increases in language usage including subjunctives, future tenses, and adjectives closely related to imaginative play” (Jenkins & Astington,2000; Singer & Singer, 2005). An early domination of such skills can cause a child to become advanced for their age. Being advanced for their age will allow them to excel in school, taking the beginning steps into turning into honors students in early high school and potential college. Improving their language skills at an early age will not only help them academically, but socially as well. An advanced language knowledge will help children communicate with adults and help them to talk out their feeling and their troubles which can be hard for younger children. It will also help them grow into obtaining greater public speaking