More on Imaginative Play

Think back to your childhood. What are some of your fondest memories? What kind of things do you remember playing? What were your favorite toys?

For me it really was all about imaginary play. I remember spending many hours making mud pies, playing house in a  neighbor's fort and dressing up.

Looking back it was never really about the toys. I asked for and received the latest and greatest toys put out by the large toy manufacturers of the time, but that isn't what made the playtime fun.  It was really my imagination or ideas my sisters or friends came up with. The toys were simply a tool to bring out situations to let my imagination run wild.

A stroll through the toy section at a big box store is shocking. If you look at toys as a tool to unlocking your child's imagination for creative play, the big box store is not the place to shop. Most mass produced toys have a predetermined plan for how your child should play with it. They usually have buttons to push to make the lights and noise begin. Many toys available want you to do something and watch the show, then do it again. They don't open new doors for your child's creativity to be expanded. No wonder kids always want to play in the box it comes in, this allows them to use their imagination.

Even dolls aren't dolls anymore!  The dolls I've seen advertised lately talk to you, pee when you feed them water, or even swim when you put them in water. So instead of your child making up a situation on their own they are taught to play off of what the doll says to them or the doll is made of such a hard plastic to make it swim. You can't hug or snuggle with a hard plastic doll. It is much harder to truly fall in love with a hard plastic doll than a soft snugly doll you can sleep with.

I believe that we are who we are thanks to the experiences we have had. I think that childhood play is a big part of the adult we grow into. That is why our son is playing with open-ended natural toys, dress up clothing items, and lost of mud and sticks. Give them the tools to let their imaginations run wild!