To the child who reads by flashlight,
Who sees dragons in the clouds,
Who feels most alive in worlds that never were,
Who knows magic is real,
Who dreams,
This is for you.
What happened to letting children use their imagination? Heck, what happened to letting people in general use their imaginations?
I was watching T.V. earlier today with my kids and I saw a commercial for Barbie. It was “Barbie Doggy Daycare”. Okay, this sounds cute, so I keep watching. Next thing I know this dog is shown “peeing” and “pooping” on little liter mats. Now, I’m not against my kids knowing how the body works. What goes in must come out. However, when I was a child you didn’t have toys that did this automatically. You used your IMAGINATION.
So what happened? I know times are changing, technology is getting bigger and bigger so all of those “regular” toys need to keep up. But as a parent, I’d rather my kids learn to use their imagination. No, I’m not going to stop my kids from having toys like the one I mentioned before, but I will still encourage they use their imaginations. Nothing grows the mind more, in my opinion, than the imagination.
As an adult, I’m even amazed at how few adults seem to use their imaginations. Maybe it’s because we know what reality is. We know that what we imagine isn’t always possible. But I really don’t think that should stop us. We need to let our inner child out every once in a while.
We need to let our children be children. Imagine, explore, dream.
Beautifully Chaotic 