Why does a child need imagination?

Once I was walking with my one-year-old twins on the playground. And when my daughter suddenly burst into tears, unable to resist her unsteady legs, one 12-year-old boy immediately ran to save the young princess. We started talking. The little boy immediately began to enthusiastically tell me … about his artificial hand. Said he had robotic fingers controlled by the power of his mind. They can shoot lasers and lift cars. He held out his hand, and I realized that these were not robotic fingers, but simply that the boy had a very vivid imagination. Then his parents called him, and he ran away, probably inventing new stories as he went.

This episode made me think about childhood imagination. What do we as adults know about the world that our children’s imagination creates? How do they see their room, their house, the street and everything around? What can parents do to develop the child and his imagination?

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The world of the child consists not only of direct experience: in its formation the imagination plays a major role. A girl who takes a doll and treats it like a real child, a boy who puts on a pirate hat and pretends to be the captain of a ship. How many adventures can occur in the imagination of the crumbs!

If memory helps us navigate the familiar world, then imagination allows us to adapt to a changing environment. And the richer the experience, the more material for the imagination. Therefore, a lot for the development of the child and his imagination can be done at an early age – just introducing the baby to the diversity of the world. And physiologists say that at the age of three, new neural connections are actively formed in a child. And the more of them formed in early childhood, the more activities a person is inclined to in the future.

Mom and dad are the first guides to the world of imagination for their child. Here are some practical tips to help you develop your child and their imagination.

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1. Look, listen, feel with your child

If you strive to develop a child, first of all help him get used to the world.

• Look together pictures with animals (elephant, bear, giraffe). You can hang pictures above the crib and change them periodically. It is important to hang the drawings so that the child can see them properly when he is lying alone.
• Listen to recordings of fairy tales or classical music. Be sure to read fairy tales, poems to the baby, sing children’s and lullaby songs. Even when you run your finger over the child’s palm and talk about the white-sided magpie, his imagination is already beginning to imagine a bird with chicks. Fairy tales, nursery rhymes, pestles, lullabies – all this affects the development of the child: it introduces the baby to the outside world and creates new images for him. So, for example, a fairy tale about a turnip is a whole storehouse of useful knowledge about the structure of a family, about collective mutual assistance, and a lullaby about a gray top will help to understand such concepts as “edge”, “borders”, “friend or foe”. And of course, all this is better absorbed if the parents themselves are passionate about communication and at the same time do not forget about the importance of gestures, articulation, intonation – while turning into children themselves a little bit.
• It is very useful to do finger exercises for a child from the first year of life. It is equally important that he tactilely feel a variety of materials: loose, liquid, solid, cold, soft, metallic, smooth, ribbed. It is worth starting with small bags, inside of which there will be buckwheat, sand, large nuts, periodically changing materials for study.

2. Parenting is creativity

• Encourage your child’s curiosity! When a child begins to grow up and has already learned to do something on his own, you can come up with activities for him that will be within his own power. Children tend to imitate the behavior of adults. So, if mom sweeps, the baby will definitely want to repeat after her. It is very important not to extinguish curiosity in the development of a new business and use it to develop the child. Even if the baby has barely learned to walk, give him a small duster and let him sweep with you.
• Fantasize! Child development is an exciting game, and any boring task can be turned into an interesting one. If the child does not want to go for a walk, you can come up with a story about a magical playground where you go on a journey on carousels to any fairy-tale character or to the country of balloons and sweets. And then go outside and imagine together how you collect imaginary balls and sweets.
• Show him the world! To develop a child means to make him think. Use every opportunity for this. If you are walking with a stroller, then choose different paths for the route. You are traveling somewhere with an older child and you got on the bus – ask where it is better to sit in order to see everyone. Let him choose himself, and then try to justify his choice.
• Play along! Sometimes children imagine themselves as magical heroes. “I am a jumping bunny,” the baby suddenly says. Play along with him: offer to eat a real carrot!

Imagination is the most important component in the world of every person, not only a child, but also an adult. The development of a child goes much faster and more intensively if you know how to use the energy of a child’s imagination. Tell your child about the real world, and your kid, by combining its different parts, will come up with no less interesting stories in a fantasy world. Compose together with him, come up with fairy tale endings or new stories with your favorite characters, and the baby will see you as a close friend, with whom everything in the world is so interesting!