The LEGO Group Reveals How Children Can 'Dream Craft' Their Way to Amazing Adventures in Their Sleep
Ahead of the second batch of LEGO® DREAMZzz™ Season Two episodes, rolling out globally from August 30 onwards, the LEGO Group is on a mission to help all kids guide their dreams – or "dream craft" – just like the series' characters
New global study[1] finds only 1 in 3 kids practice "dream crafting" while sleeping
BILLUND, Denmark, Sept. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In the lead-up to the final 10 episodes of LEGO® DREAMZzz™ Night of the Never Witch, a new study reveals that children can learn how to guide and change their dreams, similar to the characters in the series. Now, the LEGO Group is on a mission to educate parents and guardians on how they can help their children develop and strengthen the real world skills needed to be able to guide their dreams – or as coined in the series, "dream craft."
The ability to dream craft is a concept from the LEGO DREAMZzz show, whereby the characters have the ability to form and change various objects or scenarios using their creativity. The first part of Season Two saw the high-school-friends-turned-dream-chasers being taught how to harness their powers of dream crafting in the R.E.M trials by forming different items to help defeat their opponents, bringing them a step closer to taking on the Never Witch and defending the dream world.
Just like the characters of the series – Mateo, Izzie, Cooper, Logan, and Zoey – who use their dream crafting abilities to protect the dream world, children are also able to guide and control their dreams. However, a new global study by the LEGO Group found that only around half (57%) of children aged 6 to 12 are aware of their own abilities.
Of those who are utilising their "dream crafting" powers, 41% of kids said they are able to consciously change their dream when it's turning into something they fear and 38% guide their dream if they simply don't like what they are dreaming of.
With the study discovering that only 1 in 3 kids are practicing "dream crafting" in their sleep, the LEGO Group is on a mission to educate children and parents on what "dream crafting" is and how they can improve their skills.
Dream Psychologist, Ian Wallace, who has analysed over 400,000 dreams across his 30 years of research, explains that children can guide their dreams by using a plethora of skills developed in the real world. This can be done by tapping into their creativity and confidence more, particularly through three methods: Dream Play, Imaginal Play and Active Play.
- The first method, Dream Play, involves exploring and analysing an image from a dream, preferably as the child is waking. This is done by re-imagining the dream in various scenarios. As the child does this, they will realise that they have power over the images that they are creating in their mind and can explore different ways of how they feel about those images.
- Imaginal Play focuses on the child playing around with a remembered image from a dream once they've awoken. As a parent, you can encourage the child to imagine various aspects of a scene in their dream, such as its surroundings, inhabitants and possible elements within it.
- Finally, Active Play takes this further by inviting the child to reconstruct and enact imagery from their dreams, using creativity to build comparisons and resemblances through role play. This hands-on approach deepens emotional connections and strengthens their imaginative skills, which shows kids how their creativity can guide their dreams into whatever they want.
According to Ian, these methods enhance children's creativity and confidence by encouraging them to experiment, play and explore using their imagination. In turn, these real life skills can then be subconsciously applied when asleep to help the child guide or change their dream.
Through Ian's years of research, he has uncovered that the ability to "dream craft" not only makes dreaming more exciting and enjoyable, but also has a whole host of other real life benefits for children. When asleep, a child's imagination allows them to develop their problem-solving abilities, explore their inner thoughts and feelings which builds a stronger sense of self-identity and emotional resilience, and even improves their brain health by advancing their complex cognitive skills.[2]
Cerim Manovi, Creative Director for LEGO DREAMZzz franchise, said: "As we release the final episodes of LEGO DREAMZzz Season Two Night of the Never Witch, our mission is still to inspire kids and families on how to bring the creativity and imagination of 'dream crafting' into their daily lives and into their play time. At the LEGO Group, we celebrate dreaming as the awesome and tangible playground for children to freely explore and witness their creative powers, so let's turn bedtime into an adventure full of possibilities!"
So, what are kids crafting in their dreams? As part of the LEGO Group's study on children's dreams, it found the top ten most common things kids across the globe are dreaming about:
- Friends (67%)
- Family members (61%)
- School (61%)
- Parents / guardians (58%)
- Home (57%)
- Pets (56%)
- Toys (56%)
- Playing a game (50%)
- A park or playground (48%)
- Monsters (46%)
The LEGO DREAMZzz series first launched in May last year. The show follows the adventures of a group of high-school friends as they discover the dream world is a real place. Together, the crew learn how to use their dream crafting skills to defend the dream world against chaos caused by the Nightmare King and, most recently, the Never Witch.
In anticipation for this latest season, earlier in the year, the LEGO Group also revealed nine new LEGO DREAMZzz sets: Zoey's Cat Motorcycle, Logan the Mighty Panda, Cooper's Robot Dinosaur C-Rex, Zoey's Dream Jet Pack Booster, Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech, The Never Witch's Midnight Raven, Izzie's Dream Animals, The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures and Castle Nocturnia. Inspired by dream crafting in the show, each product has two or three building options and a story-led building instruction to encourage young dreamers to change their build as they change the story, thus dream crafting in real life.
The sets are available to purchase now via LEGO stores, LEGO.com/DREAMZzz and from select leading retailers around the world.
The latest instalment of Season Two (Part Two) episodes will be available to watch from September 6 via LEGO YouTube, LEGO.com and streaming platforms. Season One and the first 10 episodes of Season Two (Part One) are available on LEGO YouTube now.
To mark the new products and content, the LEGO Group is hosting a Night Bureau Adventure event in Sydney's Pit Street Mall store on September 8. The largest LEGO store will be transformed into an enchanting dream world for one day only, where attendees have the chance to meet their favourite LEGO DREAMZzz dream chaser, Mateo, in his very first live chat and press conference. With the support of Cerim Manovi, children will be given a chance to develop their "dream crafting" skills, flex their creative superpowers and participate in some super fun LEGO brick building challenges.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided on "dream crafting" is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.
1. Independent research was conducted by Opinium on behalf of the LEGO Group, from 24th June 2024 to 17th July 2024, among kids aged 6-12 years old and their parents across ten global markets including; UK & ROI (n=1,000), Germany (n=1,000), Romania (n=500), Poland (n=1,000), Australia & New Zealand (n=1,000), South Korea (n=1,000), China (n=1,000), US (n=1,000) and Mexico (n=1,000).
2. Analysis provided by Ian Wallace, Dream Psychologist, who shared his expert perspective on the importance that dreaming has on stimulating kids' creativity and how parents / kids can guide their dreams through real-life activities.
About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group's mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.
The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean "Play Well."
Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. Its products are now sold in more than 120 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com.
Ian Wallace Biography
Ian Wallace is a psychologist who specialises in dreams and dreaming. Since graduating in Psychology, Ian has analysed over 400,000 dreams for his clients during his professional career as a dream psychologist.
His experience and insight from this work leads Ian to believe that exploring our dreams is the most powerful and accessible way to realise what we want in life and how to achieve it. As Ian says to his clients, "A dream is just a dream until you put it into action."
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