That's right. I'm writing about Halloween in the middle of February. Want to know why? Because I have 3 young children who loooooooove to play dress-up! Who needs Halloween to wear costumes when you have little kids?
No one! My funny-little-monkeys dress-up at least 3 times a week. Not necessarily as monkeys, though we have one of those costumes too! My kids can dress as princesses, witches, monkeys, dogs, or fairies; if we don't have a costume to suit their current avenue of play, they will make one! Needless to say, our dress-up clothes are put into very good use all year round.
This week the girls are role-playing 'maid-servant' to a princess, who is, in the words of my oldest, "very rude." I believe I may have mentioned feeling like their maid-servant the other day. My best mothering moment? No, but it spurred their imaginations and that is a wonderful thing!
Did you know that by encouraging our children's imagination and providing concrete tools (like costumes, kitchen sets, dolls, etc.) to facilitate imaginative play, you are providing the foundation for future success? Studies show us that imaginative play actually helps our children learn to cope better with stress and build critical cognitive skills like problem-solving and visual processing.
When your little one gets wrapped up in playing and pretending, guess what other awesome skill he's developing? Self-regulation. Otherwise known as self-control. A highly-desired trait that I want my toddler-boy to develop!
Plus, playing is fun. And that's what childhood should be: Fun-filled days brimming with adventures with princesses, fairies and sometimes even a not-so-scary witch! So pull-out those Halloween costumes and get playing!
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Halloweenmart.com, but the writing came straight from the cognitive skills formed through my many years of happy imagining and playing dress-up!