Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Imagination: the Best Toy

Children have amazing toys. Cuddly things, colorful things, educational things: toys designed to stimulate a child’s imagination or improve their understanding of the world.

My daughter has a metric ton of stuffed animals. She loves to play with them, sort them out, or move them from one place in her room to another. But even if I brought out every single stuffed animal that she has, she would still play with the one or two that are her absolute favorites and ignore most of the rest. And it doesn’t matter that her piggy or her blankyphant look nothing like human baby dolls, she treats them the same as if they were.

My daughter has a beautiful play tea set that she loves to cart around in a bag and set up in various places in the house. But as much as she enjoys playing with it, she doesn’t need it to play tea party. All she needs is someone to interact with: she runs up to me or my husband, holding out her empty hand, and says, “It’s some milk!” or “It’s a cookie!” and runs away happily after we make the appropriate eating or drinking sound, to “bring” us something else.

I have considered getting her a musical toy, like a Fisher Price xylophone or piano, but I’ve always reconsidered in favor of homemade toys. Her grandparents gave her an empty oatmeal container and a wooden spoon, which works well as a drum, and is also quite handy for carrying a few small items around. She is also fond of an occasional empty paper towel roll, to use as a trumpet-like instrument or drumstick.

As wonderful as toys can be, children don’t need something expensive or super-realistic to have fun. All my daughter needs is her imagination. You don’t have to worry about where to store an imagination, or feel bad for having to give away or otherwise get rid of it when your kid outgrows it.

An imagination is the best thing a kid can have. Instead of outgrowing it, it will grow with them, and help them to become a creative adult.

I’d like to see a stuffed bunny do that.

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