The Importance of Imaginative play
The imagination is such a wonderful gift from above. It can change a mere stick into the mightiest of swords... a book into the best kept secrets of times gone by.... mothers carpet into a mixing pot.... oops.
Me and my spouse are strong believers in imaginative play for our children and do our best to help them along the way. Kids learn how to be good people by pretending as they grow.
Such as, rocking baby to sleep... fighting to save the princess... helping little sister climb that rock to safety. These are life lessons that naturally come from letting kids be kids and helping them along the way. How to help? Through story telling and getting up and simply playing! It's truely the best part! Kids learn through example. And what an example a playful parent can be.
TV is for Saturday
This past year we as a family have made big changes in the imaginative play journey....
TV is for Saturday...
(Little disclaimer, we don't consider our ASL shows "TV" and thus do watch those throughout the week.)
That was HUGE for us. NO MORE TV? WHY?
(this is for my family and im not trying to speak for yours)
Well, for us personally, we were seeing behaviors in our children we did not want.
Tantrums after we turned a show off... Not willing to play... Me as mom having to entertain... Grumpy. Grumpy. Grumpy. Yikes.
We have had this rule now for several months and WOW! The difference!
In the beginning we made a slow transition by letting them watch TV all morning on Saturday and turning it off in the afternoon. Now we are at a place where the girls simply have had enough after about an hour and go outside or find a game to play. No fights. No grumps. Just pure imaginations.
Why toys matter
I look at toys as an investment.
A few things I consider before buying that new toy.
1: Will it grow with them or break as soon as we get home?
2: How many adventures can they have with it?
3: Does it beep, flash or blink?
4:Will this end up in the donate pile or garbage can in a year or less?
Whether I'm buying it new or thrifted I like to consider these few things.
Now, that's not to say we never gift our children mainstream, plastic toys.
Sometimes I do get them something I know will only last as long as the wind blows.
My children love Bluey and Paw Patrole... and they are so darn cute I just can't stand it.
Those little plastic Blueys have impressed me though... they are being charished to say the least. LOL
I will also say... they only have one use. Bluey.
Finding a toy that is versatile in what it can be is so important.
Declutter
Another thing we've been working on as a family is to simply declutter.
Throwing broken old toys away and donating things they do not play with has left us with toys and games they truly charish and in return have loads of adventures with.
(the clean up has been more smooth as well.)
I truly believe simplifying your child's life is the best form of love. It gives them the ability to see a tree and imagine it as a flying boat ready to fight the evil pirates. The garden as a magnificent village for the tiny mushroom people. Not to mention a book being a portal to a completely different world.
It's not an easy transition
Going from mom 'playing with me all day whenever I want or watching TV'...
to 'me and my sisters start an adventure while mom is busy and we'll watch that show on Saturday' has not been easy. It's been slow and coming. BUT OH SO REWARDING.
The behavioral "issues"
(using that word lightly, for I believe a child's behavior stems from needs being met or not being met)
we've seen in our children have drastically changed.
(because of our family shift in adult behavior)
Their imaginations do get them into somewhat of scrapes from time to time LOL
but that's to be expected as... well... they are children.
Seeing my children's eyes wide with wonder as they tell me all about their days adventures is worth every burned out moment of trying to coax them to turn on that imagination when all I really wanted to do was throw a few bags of fruit snacks at them and turn on a show...
Now, there is little trying on my part for they automatically see those curious ants marching in a line and wonder what battle they just won ... and point out those birds flapping their magnificent wings and hey, what does a birds home look like anyway...
Imaginative children will change the world.
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