Opinion Piece by a Youth Worker: The Importance of Imagination in Youth Work

July 30, 2026

At the Lillekese Youth Center, we have always supported young people’s desire and interest in playing fantasy-themed games in a physical environment. During our first year of operation, one of our most popular activities was playing “café”—the café had its own menu, meal times, and waitstaff. An entire room at the youth center was transformed into one big dining area.

One of the biggest trends among young people this year has been playing “apocalypse” games. They have their own bases, rules, and hierarchy within the game. To an outside observer, it might seem like they’re just running aimlessly around the room and falling down, but in reality, behind this chaos lies a carefully thought-out and agreed-upon role-playing game. Why do young people enjoy playing out a world they haven’t experienced?

The simple answer would be that they want to. But that’s only part of it. When you read specialized literature on make-believe play, it becomes clear that it helps young children develop communication skills, empathy, cooperation, and conflict-resolution skills. In addition, imitating the world (including a fantasy world) contributes to the development of young people’s motor skills. (Miracle, n.d.)

Engaging in any kind of imaginative play helps young people become more open-minded and cooperative (Sánchez-Bernardos, 2004). At the youth center, we often see how play helps young people make new friends and accept other perspectives. This is particularly evident in imaginative play, where certain boundaries seem to disappear because everyone is in a shared imaginary world. And that’s what makes it so interesting!

At Lillekes, we’ve always supported these games and even joined in. It’s a lot of fun and, as a youth worker, it helps me connect with young people or strengthen those bonds. It always gets the young people excited when a staff member plays along with them at full force.

Article by Liis Küpar, Lead Youth Worker at the Lilleke Youth Center

References:

Miracle. (n.d.). Why Pretend Play Is Essential for Child Development. https://www.miracle-recreation.com/blog/why-playing-pretend-is-essential-for-child-development/?lang=can

Sánchez-Bernardos, M. L. (2004). Personality correlates of fantasy proneness among adolescents, Personality and Individual Differences 37(5), 1069–1079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2003.11.015.

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