Raising an imaginative child
- by Debra McDuffee on Jun 4th 2008 8:00AM
- Filed under kids, toys, art, music
My son has a vivid imagination; in fact, we don't often live with Owen. Superheroes, firefighters, knights, and astronauts live here (and run errands with me, but that's another story), but Owen doesn't actually touch down on planet Earth all that frequently.
Reading Parent Center's article on how to raise an imaginative child, I realized some of what may contribute to Owen's fanciful personality. Sure, genetics plays a part (I have been known to have a penchant for the dramatic), but apparently, so do many of the things that come natural to me as a mom.
So many, in fact, that every single thing on Parent Center's list of ways to encourage your child's imagination are an integral part of every day here on Planet Owen. From reading and telling stories to limiting computer and TV time, encouraging pretend play with props and making art and music, I have inadvertently made my house a campground for imagination.
What kinds of things do you do at home to encourage imaginative behavior in your children?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-04-2008 @ 8:54AM
Peter Shekel said...
In order to raise an imaginative child I think you need to be imaginative parents. This includes doing unusual activities with the children, like taking a ride out of the city or doing some physical activity with them ( such as bike riding, going to the beach, or even taking a scenic walk) .
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6-04-2008 @ 11:41AM
George said...
Though not a parent myself, I'm just finishing up my teen years and I a afraid I have to disagree with one small thing you said.
You mentioned that limiting computer/tv time is something you do to help your child cultivate an imagination, I completely disagree.
I was raised as an unschooler with no restrictions on computer/tv time, and I still have an incredibly active imagination (even now at 17), I have never found tv/computer time to relate to a childs imaginative development at all. What contributes far more, in my opinion, is if the parents is open and willing to play along with the games. It makes the act of imagining new worlds just that much more enjoyable =)
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