There are many types of play: active play, games, and make-believe are just some examples. Experts in early childhood development agree that one of the most important elements of a young child's life is free play. Free play is voluntary, spontaneous, open-ended play, with no wrong answers and no wrong moves. The reward to children is in the playing itself, not from outside praise or prizes or scores. Most importantly, free play is fun! Free play, besides being fun, boosts the natural qualities that all children possess: curiosity, enthusiasm, a love of discovery, and the drive to "figure stuff out." In addition, free play lets children control their environment, which builds self- esteem and provides and outlet for creativity. Child development experts say that free play is crucial for children's intellectual and emotional growth. PLAY-DOH modeling compound meets all of the criteria for free play:

• It's open-ended. A piece of PLAY-DOH compound can become absolutely anything a child wants it to be.
• There are no outside rules, restrictions, or rewards. The fun of the play comes from shaping and playing with PLAY-DOH compound any way the child wants. A plastic dinosaur is always a dinosaur, but a PLAY-DOH dinosaur can become a bug or a bird or an ice cream cone in just a few seconds!
• It stimulates imagination and learning. Watching children using PLAY-DOH compound, you can see that different parts of their brain are engaged at the same time: motor and sensory skills (texture, color, shape, etc.), imagination and creativity, and social skills, in the case of group play. All of these skills are key to your child's development.