Cultivating Imagination: How Parents Foster Their Child’s Natural Curiosity

The average child spends about 10 hours playing with their parents, others and on their own on any given day, according to new research.

A new survey of 2,000 parents of children ages 0-6 revealed that three-quarters of parents still believe that isn’t enough and want their child to spend more time engaging in creative, free play time.  

According to almost every parent (92%), their child’s play is important for their overall growth and development. 

The survey revealed that children spend about three and a half hours playing with their parents each day, while three hours are spent playing on their own and the other three are spent playing with friends, siblings or classmates — this totals nearly 3,650 hours of play every year. 

Physical play, such as dancing or ball games, ranked as the top choice for favorite types of play (31%), followed by social play, such as playing with others, taking turns and sharing (22%). 

Though they may be considered childhood staples for some, games with rules, such as Duck Duck Goose and board games were found to be the least favorite type of play today. 

On average, children get about two hours of screen time each day and 86% of parents believe that it’s important to encourage off-screen play for their child. 

Still, almost two-thirds (64%) find digital play, such as screen time or online games, to be at least somewhat effective for their child’s growth and development.  

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of The Goddard School, the survey also explored the natural curiosity of young children and found that parents field an average of 14 different questions per day. 

More than nine in 10 parents (92%) find it to be important to foster their child’s inquisitive and curious nature. As a result, nearly three-quarters of parents (74%) frequently educate themselves on topics their child is curious about.  

In order to foster their child’s inquisitive nature, parents are encouraging them to play and use their imagination (51%), keeping an open mind (50%) and letting them explore the world around them (48%). 

On top of that, almost half (47%) read to or with their child and encourage them to ask questions (43%).

“Young children are naturally curious, and it’s imperative to nurture this curiosity to help them develop socially, emotionally and academically,” said Dr. Lauren Loquasto, senior vice president and chief academic officer at The Goddard School. “To do this, parents, caregivers and educators can ensure the children in their care are consistently engaging in creative play and exploring their interests through questions, experimentation and experiences.”  

The top three areas in which parents believe their child needs the most support include learning social skills (37%), gaining social-emotional intelligence (36%) and learning how to be independent (33%). 

Today, 84% of survey respondents send their child to school or daycare, and these parents believe that attending school or daycare benefits their child by helping them make friends (53%), learning social skills (52%) and developing social-emotional intelligence (45%). 

“The survey found that parents believe social-emotional learning is most important for their child’s growth and development,” added Loquasto. “When selecting a preschool, I encourage parents to carefully consider how the curriculum and educational philosophy supports social-emotional learning. Focus on programs that provide child-led, play-based experiences that help children learn about themselves and the world around them by exploring their interests, investigating concepts, and asking questions.”

Survey methodology: 

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 parents of children ages 0-6 was commissioned by The Goddard School between May 24 and May 31, 2024. It was conducted by market research company Talker Research, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).