Repurposing Household Objects for Play: Cardboard Boxes by Sally Brown
Repurposing Household Objects for Play: Cardboard Boxes
Sparking imagination and creativity by thinking outside the box!
Cardboard boxes are, in my opinion, one of the best toys of all time for children of all ages.
They are readily available in a range of different sizes (try your local supermarket if you don’t have any at home) and are a more environmentally sustainable resource since they can be recycled when the children have finished with them.
Open-ended play
A cardboard box can be made into anything, and it is this versatility which makes them such a fantastic resource to include in your play at home. Aim to follow your child’s ideas for what they would like to build or create.
Maybe your child decides to use the box to create something, such as a car, rocket, train, shop, or puppet theatre.
The box might become part of an obstacle course or be a tunnel.
If you have several boxes they could be used as building blocks to create towers to cities.
They might form a child-sized den (no adults allowed!) or a reading nook or become a house for other toys.
Or the box might be a drawing canvas for your child’s next creation
The possibilities are endless
Why are cardboard boxes such a fantastic toy?
Cardboard boxes and open-ended play support children with exercising their imagination and creative thinking. In addition, talking together about their creations can also support a child’s language development
They empower the children to choose what they would like to do with the box (rather than have an adult or toy-designer choose for them). Letting your child decide what to do with the boxes will provide you with an interesting insight into their world and their ideas.
Experimenting with cardboard boxes promotes trial and error. It doesn’t matter what the finished product looks like since the children will learn just as much from the process of playing and creating.
Boxes can support emotional regulation by providing a quiet and calm space – your child might not want to make anything; rather they might just want to sit in the box and have a space for themselves.
Boxes promote spatial awareness as the child climbs in and out or crawls through the box. Carrying, pulling and stacking boxes can support the development of gross motor skills whilst cutting boxes, drawing and sticking can help with fine motor skills.
Enjoy observing all the different creations that can emerge from the humble cardboard box – the unsung hero of toys!
