Is Make-Believe Play Vital to Kids?

USA Today has an interview with Susan Linn, the author of The Case for Make Believe:

Q: You write that studies show the time children spend in creative play has diminished over the years. Why?
A: Kids are spending about 40 hours a week engaged with electronic media after school. That's time taken away from creative play. The combination of this screen time and all the toys based on TV shows and movies narrows children's options for make-believe. So do these best-selling electronic toys where all you have to do is push a button, and the toy talks, walks and does back flips by itself. It's like the toy is having most of the fun, but it's not giving children a chance to be creative. When it comes to toys that encourage creative play, less is more. A good toy is 90% child and only 10% toy.

Q: How will the toys associated with some summer movies —Indiana Jones, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight — help or hinder play?
A: These very violent movies are spawning thousands of new toys and other licensed media-linked products. Kids play less creatively with media-linked toys. These toys come with a built-in script. There is a particular character with a particular history, and it does particular things. That's not conducive to creative play. I see this with little girls and the Disney princess movies. There are 40,000 Disney princess items on the market today. Girls see the movies again and again. And so when they play, they often just reiterate the movie instead of inventing something new or bringing something of themselves into it.

Q: What can parents do this summer to make sure their kids have an opportunity for creative play?
A: Make sure that children have unstructured time away from screen media and electronic toys. Take advantage of nice weather and get kids playing outside. Children actually play more creatively in nature. Play together as a family. Set up regular times when cellphones, computers, televisions, MP3 players are off and do something fun together — bake, play board games, do art projects or build with blocks. Fill the house with music — sing, dance, be silly. If your kids are going to camp or day care this summer, pick one that doesn't rely on showing movies or watching television and that encourages a variety of activities, including unstructured playtime.

Q: What kind of things should parents have available for children ages 3 to 7 that will encourage creative play?
A: Invest in art supplies, including paint, crayons, markers, glue, glitter. Give them dress-up clothes, puzzles, blocks, old sheets for pretend tents and caves, dolls that aren't sexualized, puppets and stuffed animals that don't have computer chips.

Q: Do adults remember the creative play from their childhoods?
A: People often tell me that their happiest memories are the times they spent in unstructured creative play by themselves or with friends. Don't today's children deserve a chance to play like that as well?

I love Dr. Linn's definition of a good toy: 90% child and 10% toy!