By Charnicia Huggins
NEW YORK, Sep 06 (Reuters Health) -- Young children who are imaginative in their make-believe play are better able to cope with stress later in life, according to Ohio researchers.
The study, published in the August issue of the Creativity Research Journal, shows that creative first and second graders often become better problem solvers in the fifth and sixth grades.
"Good early play skills predicted the ability to be creative and generate alternative solutions to everyday problems," said researcher Sandra W. Russ, professor and chair of the psychology department at Case Western Reserve University in a statement.
"If those skills (of creative play) persist, early interventions by parents, teachers, and daycare workers can help young children learn how to develop into better players with some lifelong coping skills," Russ added.
The study included 31 fifth and sixth graders, who were originally part of a larger study when there were in first and second grade.
The children were given three types of creativity tests: Affect in Fantasy Task, an Alternate Uses Test, and a Story Telling Measure. In the first test the children were asked to make up a play using two puppets and three blocks. The Alternate Uses Test measured divergent thinking -- thinking that explores various solutions to a problem. In the Story Telling Measure, the children were asked to make up a story to go along with a picture book for younger children.
The study's results show that processes "that occur in pretend play are important processes because they relate to adaptive functioning in children -- creativity abilities, coping abilities -- so the kind of emotion that you see in play and the kind of make believe that you see in play is important," Russ told Reuters Health in an interview.
Russ suggested the following tips to foster creativity in children:
-- Allow time to indulge in play.
-- Participate with children as they play.
-- Praise and reward children for their creativity and imagination.
-- Help children if they need suggestions for creative play.
