This June, IKEA is launching the children’s campaign “Welcome To Their World”, encouraging us to see things through the eyes of children. Children are filled with boundless imagination, curiosity, and have a natural inclination towards play. Playing is more than an activity that can keep kids active – it is a state of mind, of finding joy, wonder and fun in everything we do.
Research has shown that play in childhood ignites the fire for learning, naturally setting children up with the skills they need to relate with the world around them. Giving children the space to play – to stretch their minds and use their imaginations freely, will also give parents the opportunity to connect and bond with their children from an early age.
This school holidays, let the children play. Here are some ways that parents can promote and cultivate this spark of playfulness and creativity in their children.
*Note: Always ensure that there is parental or adult supervision while doing these activities with children.
Pick up a pencil and start doodling.
Using a pencil, freely scribble swirls and lines on a piece of paper, never letting the pencil leave the paper. Then, have fun colouring in all the shapes that have formed – don’t worry if the colours go past the lines! This type of activity is also known as out-of-the-box play, where children are not bound by rules and can tap into their imagination to create the most colourful works of art. The FLISAT Children’s table $89 has additional storage for all the colouring materials you need! Check out their other fun storage solutions here!
Want to turn it into a game for the children? The MÅLA Easel $29.90 is double-sided and can be used as a whiteboard, blackboard, or even with MÅLA drawing paper $9.90. Have each child scribble on one side, then swap places and colour in each other’s drawings!
Go on exciting adventures together!
Even if the family is staying home, invite children to go on exciting adventures by re-imagining the most ordinary household objects into fun devices. Whether it means building blocks, making models, or even setting up a blanket fortress in the bedroom, the most important rule is to have fun and play freely!
Ready to travel the world? The LILLABO 45-piece train set with rail $49.90 will take children wherever they want to go. Think outside the box and use tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls, or whatever you can find at home to create towns, cities, and villages together. Let children take the lead – to them, the MULA Stacking rings $12.90 could even be a tall, colourful building in a magical town! Children will love getting to spend time with their parents and telling stories together.
Let children create their own worlds.
From hosting a princess tea party with dolls to travelling back in time as a pre-historic adventurer with their JÄTTELIK Soft toy $7.90, a child’s world lights up around them as their imagination roams free with the environment and the objects they interact with.
But playing pretend is more than just dressing up as a pirate or princess. In role-play, children learn essential social skills through mirroring their parents and grown-ups around them and inventing their own roles.
Whether that means cooking up a feast in the DUKTIG play kitchen $159 or going grocery shopping with the MULA Toddle truck $49.90, these activities function as simple, lighthearted ways for children to make sense of the world around them. As they role-play, they are having fun and learning how to understand different perspectives at the same time.
There is an innate charm when it comes to childlike imagination. In a child’s world, there are endless possibilities when it comes to play. This June, IKEA invites parents to embrace the benefits of play in child development – and remember that grown-ups can play too!
Find out more about IKEA’s children’s campaign, “Welcome To Their World” at IKEA.sg/children.
