I remember reading this book to my children when they were little and they loved it! I lost that copy and now have to buy another for my two year old because I really think she will get a kick out of it. This reminded me how important imagination is. Do children today use their imaginations as much as we did when we were kids? In the world of child development you may hear us use phrases like “critical thinking skills” and “creative problem-solving abilities” when referring to our goals for your child’s cognitive development. What we are really talking about is… imagination. The way to create human beings with imagination is to provide them with opportunities to develop it for themselves when they are very young. These opportunities are found in one place and one place only… PLAY. Playing with paints, playing with play dough, with costumes, with glue and with crayons. Making a mess. Exploring the woods. Splashing in a puddle. Wondering at a caterpillar you notice inching by you. Pretending to be a bird, gliding through the sky. In my opinion there are parents today that think if they give their children too much free time they are wasting opportunities for learning and preparing children for their futures. But these types of parental choices, though done with love and the best of intentions, are not a gift to children. I believe they need both. Children today desperately need time and space to develop their creative imaginations free from adult agendas.
“Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.”
~Walt Disney~
