Helping your Child Develop a Healthy Imagination

Remember when you were younger and you used to daydream outside, while looking at the clouds, you used to imagine that they were different things? My question for you, do you still do that? Are you still daydreaming as often as you did when you were younger or is this a skill that has slowly faded from your daily routine. If this is something that faded away don’t feel bad you aren’t the only one that this occurred to. This seemed to be an epidemic that occurs to most adults, however this can be changed. I do feel as though there is hope. While imagination is something that is often taken for granted, many don’t realize that imagination is not a learned skill. While some may excel at this ability, imagination takes some cultivation and practice. Children, who would seem to have this skill ingrained in them, only have glimmers of this ability and too often then not, this ability slowly fades over the years until the individual either does not have any imagination or its completely counter productive to the individual. It is truly unfortunate that while there are courses in school to help a child hone various academic skills, there are no classes with the aim to develop imagination. There may be art classes, or creative elements in the school environment, but there is no “imagination” class. If a child learns to properly develop their imagination, then as an adult they can benefit from their healthy imagination. A healthy imagination in adults can lead to better overall health, enhances problem-solving skills, and helps to preserve memory. On the other hand a healthy imagination in children can help to develop social skills, increase intellectual growth and helps to build self-confidence. While this is all well and good, how exactly does one help a child develop their imagination? There are various ways; one such way is to allow a child to be bored. The immediate reaction is to give in at all times and entertain your children, however by saying no and allowing the child to be bored forces them to flex their imagination muscle. As long as the child is supervised, allow the child to come to their own conclusions and usually they will use their imagination to come up with a way to entertain them. Obviously reading to children helps a child to develop imagination, but pick a book without any pictures. Another great idea is to give your children safe objects that are not toys to play with, such as mixing whisks, wooden spoons and pots. If they’ve never seen those items before don’t explain what they are, let them invent their own explanation for them. Another great idea is to invent a scenario, such as zoo, space or farm. Set up the playtime and then follow the child’s lead. The hardest thing about developing a child’s imagination is that it takes effort from both the child and the parent, however the effort is incredibly rewarding. There are also skills and activities to help adults to develop their imagination. Maybe listen to music without lyrics, draw pictures for fun. Overall imagination is a skill that should not be overlooked it can greatly benefit in the wellbeing for not just children but adults alike. Developing this skill with your children can help manage your stress and make you feel a tad better. Maybe one day there will be imagination classes in school or creativity classes to teach more children the benefits of this ability. Until then we have to do what we can with our abilities to teach the children.