"Children's play and the growth of imagination may be seen as critical opportunities to enhance school readiness… there is the further benefit that the early play and imagination of children can enrich personal growth and the capacity for enjoyment and creativity throughout life." -Drs. Dorothy Singer and Jerome Singer, "Imagination and Play in the Electronic Age"
"Women have better relationship-management skills in the workplace because they have been practicing these skills since birth, as young girls engage in imaginative play more so than boys." - Dr. Jean Greaves and Dr. Travis Bradberry, "The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book"
"Social skills, including perspective-taking of others' ideas and beliefs, are central to fantasy play. A rich set of skills and knowledge about the social world are needed to create roles for imaginary play and negotiate these roles with others in your play… play is perhaps the most vital and essential arena for practicing what our children today so desperately need to succeed in a fast-paced, complex social and technological world." - Julie A. Riess, Ph.D., Vassar College
"Research on young children has shown time and again that PLAY = LEARNING! The world is a virtual classroom filled with opportunities to stimulate the brain and encourage intellectual and social growth. To succeed in the global marketplace of tomorrow, they need to be creative problem-solvers - not robots equipped with pre-wired solutions to yesterday's questions." - Kathy Hirsch-Pasek, Ph.D and Roberta Golinkoff, Ph.D., "Einstein Never Used Flashcards"
In comparison with children who do not have imaginary play, children who create imaginary play are more sociable and less shy, are more creative, participate in more family activities and show more positive effect in their play with other children. - Charles Schaeffer, Ph.D., Fairleigh Dickinson University
"Studies have shown how children engaging together in make-believe play demonstrate advances in recognizing others' thoughts or in differentiating fantasy representations form reality." - Craig Rosen, Ph.D. and David Schwebel, Ph.D., Child Development
Through play, a child learns that there is a certain logical sequence of events in the make-believe game. Preschoolers who showed delay of gratification showed better academic achievement and social competence in adolescence." - Dr. Walter Mischel, Journal of Research in Childhood Education
"In studies, academics such as reading and writing improved for kindergarten and even second grade children when they played together during 15 hours of play sessions." - Drs. Sandra Stone and James Christie, Journal of Research in Childhood Education
