Halloween: Time for creative play

STREETSBORO, Ohio, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. child development experts say Halloween is an excellent opportunity for creative play for children.

They say creative play can enhance a child's cognitive, social, emotional and physical development.

The experts at CreativePlayPlus.com -- sponsored by Step2 Children's Products makers -- suggest Halloween allows for a specific type of creative play called creative dramatic play, or acting out scenes and scenarios.

Costumes, they say, help children fully immerse themselves in a specific character or imaginary world.

In addition to costumes, other ways the play experts suggest encouraging children to articulate their feelings through creative dramatic play include:

-- Using simple props to create more realistic surroundings for play.

-- Asking children open-ended questions about their chosen character, such as "What would happen if ...?" or "What do you think about...?"

-- Asking why or how a child chose to play a certain character.