It was late sunday evening, we were driving back home after visiting Grandma. My toddler who is 2 and some months old, was busy looking out of the window to see his favourite trucks on the busy ring road. Suddenly he exclaimed, ” Mama, look!!! There’s a banana in the sky! I was in a conversation with with his daddy and barely heard him. So to get my attention this time, he raised his pitch two times more and yelled… mama, mama see!! There’s a banana in the sky. Banannaa in the sky!

For a moment, I dismissed it, as my conditioning in the background said, what banana could he be talking about? Luckily the curious part of me decided to look out and indeed! there was a banana in the sky… the moon was in the shape of a banana. After visiting my mom who was fighting a life threatening illness my spirits were a rather low but this new discovery with my little boy brought a childlike joy in me.

Children are free spirits.
Their world is created with the way they perceive life. They are not born into rules. They go with the flow.

That’s why playtime is probably the most important aspect of growing up. Play is all about the flow. Through play they understand their own individuality. The freer they are, more creative is their expression.

During early childhood, art is a natural activity to support this free play in children. The freedom to explore different materials in an organic and unstructured way allows for free expression. These artistic endeavors and independent explorations are not just fun, but educational as well. Art enhances the fine motor skills and gets them get ready for spatial, math and language concepts in school.

In addition to helping your child develop important skills, free expression is also good for overall health and well-being. Giving your child a space to express themselves creatively also relaxes them and enables them to work through the emotions that may be coming up which needs expression.

Free Play is Healthy Play!

Author
Karen Saldanha – Chief Dabbler
Trained Art Therapist & Mom