Psychoeducation on the Role of Parents in Building Children's Creativity Through Fantasy Play

Authors

  • Talitha Maurilla Universitas Tarumanagara
  • Naomi Soetikno Universitas Tarumanagara
  • Fransisca Iriani Roesmala Dewi Universitas Tarumanagara

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55583/arsy.v6i3.1808

Keywords:

Fantasy Play, Children's Creativity, The Role Of Parents

Abstract

Creativity is an essential skill for children to navigate developmental challenges and the demands of the 21st century. However, many parents are still unfamiliar with practical ways to stimulate this ability through daily interactions. This community service program (PKM) aimed to enhance parents’ understanding and skills in fostering children’s creativity through fantasy play and supportive parenting practices. The program was conducted at RPTRA Rawa Indah and collaborated with PAUD X, Jakarta, through an interactive seminar integrating developmental psychology theories, recent empirical findings, demonstrations of fantasy play activities, and reflective discussions on parental roles. The implementation consisted of preparation, material development, event dissemination, and on-site seminar delivery. The results indicate increased parental understanding of fantasy play and its contribution to children’s creativity. Participants also reported greater readiness to implement imaginative activities and supportive parenting approaches at home. Overall, this PKM program contributed to strengthening evidence-based parenting literacy and enhancing collaboration between early childhood institutions and parents in supporting optimal child development.

References

Anthony, J., Roman, D., Rodriguez, N., Daniels, N., Crowder, S., & Haile, A. (2023). Preliminary Evaluation of the What You Do Matters Curriculum in Community-based Settings. Children and Youth Services Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107018.

Bauer, R., Gilpin, A. T., Thibodeau-Nielsen, R. B. (2021). Executive functions and imaginative play: Exploring relations with prosocial behaviors using structural equation modeling. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 25. 100165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2021.100165.

Benzies, K., Kurilova, J., & Van Der Merwe, M. (2021). Parental Attitudinal and Behavioral Change Associated With Prevention-Focused Parenting Education: An Interpretive Description. Health Education & Behavior, 50, 144 - 152. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981211033233.

Boyles, M. (2022, Jan 25). The Importance of Creativity in Business. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/importance-of-creativity-in-business.

Bunce, L., & Woolley, J. D. (2021). Fantasy orientation and creativity in childhood: A closer look. Cognitive Development, 57, 100979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100979.

Canário, A., Pinto, R., Silva-Martins, M., Rienks, K., Akik, B., Stanke, K., David, O., Kiziltepe, R., Melendez-Torres, G., Thongseiratch, T., & Leijten, P. (2024). Online Parenting Programs for Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Problems: a Network Meta-Analysis. Prevention Science, 26, 592 - 609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-024-01735-1.

Chaidi, I., & Drigas, A. (2020). Parents' Involvement in the Education of their Children with Autism: Related Research and its Results. Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Learn., 15, 194-203. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i14.12509.

Cosso, J., Von Suchodoletz, A., & Yoshikawa, H. (2022). Effects of parental involvement programs on young children's academic and social-emotional outcomes: A meta-analysis.. Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000992.

Grindal, T., Bowne, J., Yoshikawa, H., Schindler, H., Duncan, G., Magnuson, K., & Shonkoff, J. (2016). The added impact of parenting education in early childhood education programs: A meta-analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 70, 238-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.09.018.

Hà, T. A. (2022). Pretend Play and Early Language Development—Relationships and Impacts: A Comprehensive Literature Review. Journal of Education, 202(1), 122-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022057420966761.

Halliday, A., Kola-Palmer, S., Davis, P., King, N., Retzler, J. (2023). Childhood fantasy play relates to adult socio-emotional competence. Infact and Child Development. 32(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2451.

Jankowska, D., & Gralewski, J. (2020). The familial context of children’s creativity: Parenting styles and the climate for creativity in parent-child relationship. Creativity Studies. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2b35p.

Jeong, J., Franchett, E., De Oliveira, C., Rehmani, K., & Yousafzai, A. (2021). Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life: A global systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Medicine, 18. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003602.

Johnson, G., Lagbenro, I., Childs, M., Nandin, A., Hoang, A., Hilton, C., Kitchens, R., & Ghulmi, L. (2025). Efficacy of Parenting Education for Adolescent Parents and Impact on Child's Development: A Systematic Review.. Occupational therapy in health care, 1-15 . https://doi.org/10.1080/07380577.2025.2466204.

Kamber, E., Tahiroglu, D., Kara, H. S. (2021). Relations between fantasy orientation, pretense, and parental preschool children. DergiPark. 50(2). 929-964. https://doi.org/10.14812/cuefd.850754.

Koesno, S. (2022, Feb 24). Indonesia Butuh Lebih Banyak Talenta Kreatif. Marketeers. https://www.marketeers.com/indonesia-butuh-lebih-banyak-talenta-kreatif/.

Lin, Q., Zhou, N., Wan, Y., & Fu, H. (2020). Relationship between Chinese children's imaginary companions and their understanding of second-order false beliefs and emotions. Internasional Journal of Psychology, 55(1), 98–105. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12546.

Lin, Y. C., & Yawkey, T. (2013). Does play matter to parents? Taiwanese parents' perceptions of child's play. Education, 134(2), 244-254.

Liu, W., Huang, R., Wang, J., Chen, Y., Ohashi, T., Li, B., Liu, Y., Qiu, D., Yu, R., Zhang, J., Al Mahmud, A., & Leifer, L. (2024). Empathy Design Thinking: Cultivating creative minds in primary education. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1376305. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1376305.

Maurilla, T., Soetikno, N., Dewi, F.I.R. (2025). Perceived Parenting Styles as a Moderator Between Childhood Fantasy Play and Creativity in Early Adulthood. Unpublished manuscript.

McKay, K., Kennedy, E., & Young, B. (2021). “Sometimes I think my frustration is the real issue”: A qualitative study of parents’ experiences of transformation after a parenting programme. PLoS ONE, 16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258528.

Petersen, H., & Holodynski, M. (2020). Bewitched to Be Happy? The Impact of Pretend Play on Emotion Regulation of Expression in 3- to 6-Year-Olds. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 181(2–3), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2020.1734909.

Suyuti. (2024). The Importance of Creativity and Innovation in Education: How to Prepare Students for the 21st Century Workforce. Education Studies and Teaching Journal, 1(1), 80-92. https://doi.org/10.62207/29g1vq26.

Tolu-Kolawole, D. (2025, Feb 11). Creativity, innovation crucial for economic development — Minister. https://punchng.com/creativity-innovation-crucial-for-economic-development-minister/.

White, R. E., & Carlson, S. M. (2021). Pretending with realistic and fantastical stories facilitates executive function in 3-year-old children. Journal of experimental child psychology, 207, 105090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105090.

White, R. E., Thibodeau-Nielsen, R. B., Palermo, F., & Mikulski, A. M. (2021). Engagement in social pretend play predicts preschoolers’ executive function gains across the school year. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 56, 103-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.03.005.

World Economic Forum. (2024). The Future of Jobs Report 2024. Geneva: World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-23

How to Cite

Maurilla, T., Soetikno, N., & Iriani Roesmala Dewi, F. (2025). Psychoeducation on the Role of Parents in Building Children’s Creativity Through Fantasy Play. ARSY : Jurnal Aplikasi Riset Kepada Masyarakat, 6(3), 953-960. https://doi.org/10.55583/arsy.v6i3.1808