Hands-on creative play is essential to children's health and well being, yet in the 21st century United States, nurturing such play has actually become countercultural. The dominant, marketing-driven, media-saturated culture dictates against it. In addition to depriving children of time spent in creative play, unlimited access to screens means that children get to see the same programs repeatedly. They can become so locked into set characters and scripts that their play becomes quite constricted. It can no longer be assumed that children even know how to play creatively. The author stresses the role of child care providers in ensuring that children are provided with the time, space, and tools for make-believe. She suggests child care providers to create schools, centers, and spaces for children that provide alternatives to commercial culture--places where creative play is nurtured and where children are provided with opportunities to explore themselves and the world.