OP I totally agree with you, creative free play is SO important for brain development and also for fun! I have lived in the UK, Germany and am now back in the USA. There is a worldwide fear everywhere of kids not being at the head of the pack academically, the result is so many children spending excessive amount of time doing STEM focused subjects especially. I have 3 teens and my eldest just got into Uni here in the US. I was quite shocked walking around the streets close to campus how things have changed. This Uni has become extremely competitive since we moved to the US. There were hoards of kids, all looking very serious and intense and the SAME. My dd was shocked too and although academic has decided to “rush” which means join a Sorority (sisterhood living together) because we were both very concerned at the apparent lack of creativity and fun.
I know for a fact that a number of local companies that are worldwide leaders in technology are interviewing people asking them to describe their childhoods and how much time they spent building and playing creatively without supervision. This is because we are starting to breed out creativity. Great engineers, medics and technics to be higher level thinkers need to be creative thinkers.
I would actually add more FUN and creative activities than STEM, especially at such young ages. Worldwide we are starting to create very similar types and employers are worried. So go against the grain, your kids will thank you and their minds will be capable of much higher level thought if they keep using their hands and bodies. Don’t shut them down in front of a computer. Make stuff, run around, swim, dance, play, explore.
In case you think I am a clueless hippy my husband is a neurologist and I have been an Executive Recruiter for high level positions such a head of engineering, head of operations, CFO. Etc.