Let’s lead off with exciting news from Kids Party Characters. As you may have already guessed, we’ve added a new costume to our collection of over 200 of your kids’ favorites, and it’s none other than the Black Panther.
While many kids see Black Panther as the “new guy,” he’s anything but new in the world of superheroes, having first appeared in the comic books 52 years ago.
Now that he’s made it to the big screen, he’s clearly a favorite. The movie Black Panther brought in over $1 billion in its first month, making it the highest-grossing solo superhero movie ever.
Because it’s our goal at Kids Party Characters to have every character your child would ever want to invite to his party, adding Black Panther to our collection was a no-brainer.
Head over to KidsPartyCharacters.com and book Black Panther today, or someone else will!
Why You Should Encourage Your Child’s Love of Characters
Chances are, characters have been on your mind a lot lately, as your child went through the ever-changing process of choosing who she wanted to be for Halloween.
Buying early can be the smart thing to do, Target had 40% off all Halloween costumes for one day in September, and surely you risk not being able to find the best characters in your child’s size if you procrastinate.
But, you also risk your child changing her mind, once, twice, or a dozen times when you purchase too early.
While all of the drama, excitement, and money that goes into choosing a Halloween costume can make us moms happy when the whole thing’s over, hopefully you’ll feel a little better knowing how good dress up play is for children.
The first bit of good news is, that Halloween costume you either spent at least 50 hours making or $50 buying, is not just for Halloween.
If you don’t already have a bin for dress up clothes, start one with this year’s costumes, and add to it throughout the year.
Playing dress up is an activity younger kids enjoy on a daily basis if you give them enough options.
This doesn’t mean you have to buy expensive costumes to complete your collection.
On the contrary, your kids will most enjoy your old clothes and accessories; funny hats, shoes, and clothing they find at the thrift store; and silk scarfs they can twist into almost any piece of clothing or accessory.
While it’s fun for kids to take on the traits of their favorite superhero, princess, or villain during play, it’s even more fun for them to create their own characters that they can enhance with whatever traits they choose.
The fact that dress up play is fun for kids is enough of a reason to encourage it. But you may be surprised to learn that there are some real benefits to your child’s development that come specifically from dress-up play.
These five benefits make dress-up play not only fun, but also an important part of your child’s learning and growing process.
1. Brain Development: Your child’s memory and creative centers are tested and nurtured when she becomes involved in the dramatic play that comes with dress up.
She’ll recall the stories of her favorite characters, create new stories that she’ll return to when developing new characters, and follow storylines that she and her friends make up along the way.
2. Problem-Solving: For children, “problem-solving” doesn’t have the same negative connotations it does for us adults.
Problem-solving in dress-up play just means working out how to put together their costume just the way they want it, figuring out who will be the good guy and the bad guy, and how the story will end.
Fortunately, developing these skills at a young age will help your child when she gets older to make decisions that avoid problems, and to be able to effectively solve problems when they do arise.
3. Emotional Development: Any time your child takes on a role, it forces him to think about the emotions involved in the character he’s portraying.
Yes, being a superhero can teach empathy as your child becomes the rescuer of the less fortunate, or the caretaker when he has the doctor scrubs on.
Children will often process their fears through play too. Giving them a wide variety of dress-up opportunities allows them to play out any fears and anxieties they have to a more confident ending than exists merely in their mind.
4. Imagination and Creativity: For obvious reasons, dress-up play encourages, really requires, your child’s imagination and creativity.
Developing a strong sense of imagination and creativity in your child will give her an advantage in school projects, and will really give her a leg up when it comes to getting a competitive job or starting her own business.
5. Language and Motor Skills: Taking on the role of someone other than who they really are will cause your child to use words he wouldn’t normally use, developing both his vocabulary and sentence structure.
Designing and putting on the costumes will require him to manipulate zippers, buttons, and strings. If you’ve added in play silks, which really make the best costumes, he’ll also improve his motor skills by learning to fold and tie the silks to meet his costume’s needs.
Connecting With Kids Party Characters
Happy Halloween from all of us at Kids Party Characters. We hope your kids love spending the day as their favorite character, and that you now have perhaps a new appreciation for your child’s love of characters and how important becoming and creating characters is to his development.
Make sure to visit us at KidsPartyCharacters.com for all your children’s party needs, and to join us on Facebook for daily updates on the magic we bring to children’s parties, as well as our best tips on raising happy and healthy kids.
No Kids Party Characters in your area? Consider starting your very own business!
Being a Kids Party Characters franchise owner has many advantages, including the opportunity to work from home in a business your whole family will love.
Find out more at KidsPartyCharacters.com, where you can schedule a free chat with owner Cheryl Jacobs to get all your questions answered about this fun and rewarding opportunity.