What is so great about imaginative play?

[ShadowMom]

I am a new mother... my DS is only 2. So, maybe this is something that will become obvious to me when my DS is older. But...

I keep hearing people (here and IRL) talking about how they encourage "imaginative" play.

What is so great about imaginative play and why should I encourage it?

Seriously... I'm being blunt, but I really want to know.

That sort of thing doesn't come naturally to me at all.

I know that one of the big schools (Waldorf? Montessori? Can't remember.) encourages a lot of fantasy play and stuff like that... so there must be some reason why it's supposed to be good?

Please edumuhcate me. :)

[fly-mom]

Good question! I'll be interesting in reading the responses you get. I have my own personal opinions, but I don't have time to put them into eloquent words, so I googled the question and read through a few articles. This one sums up pretty much why I think imaginative play is important.

http://www.scholastic.com/earlylearner/experts/learning/3_5_pretendplay.htm

[USAmma]

I am not good at sitting on the floor and playing that way with my dd's. I just bought the toys and left them up to their own devices, and they do pretty well on their own. Dd1 is very imaginative and dd2 is starting to pretend to care for her dolls and making brrr noises when driving cars around the floor.

[~member~]

Imaginative play is one of the few things that require the use of the entire senses. A child uses all their senses when imagining. And their whole body is also involved.
I think it is an important way to strengthen the signals between the brain and body, kind of fine-tuning them, really.
People who have not been allowed to do imaginary play have been stunted in different areas of growth/development.

[Raynbow]

I wouldn't worry about forcing yourself to do anythign about it... kids are pretty good at doing it themselves! :)
My youger son recently started serious imaginative play - he's been making me cups of tea, and talking on the phone to Elmo nonstop for the past two weeks.. not to mention pretending to type ion his keyboard all with no 'pushing" from me... and he will be 3 in January.

[shayinme]

:lurk: I'm not a new Mama (heck I have a teenager) but find the idea of imaginative play interesting.

Shay

[earthmama369]

This is just off-the-cuff, but I figure that a child who has been exposed to "imaginative play" opportunities is a child who doesn't wait to be spoonfed instructions and directions. This is a child who can happily entertain him/herself for periods of time. Later on, this is a child who can exercise his/her brain and come up with innovative solutions to problems rather than waiting for someone else to provide the answers.

For example, you have two dolls. One is a doll with a computer chip, programmed to respond to specific cues from a child in a specific way. One is a rag doll. The first doll teaches a child rote interaction. It guides the play. The latter doll requires a child to direct the play, to come up with the conversations and activities. The "spark" comes from the child, not the toy.

[Dar]

I think imaginative play leads to children who are creative thinkers and problem-solvers, two traits I want to encourage...

Dar

[~member~]

For example, you have two dolls. One is a doll with a computer chip, programmed to respond to specific cues from a child in a specific way. One is a rag doll. The first doll teaches a child rote interaction. It guides the play. The latter doll requires a child to direct the play, to come up with the conversations and activities. The "spark" comes from the child, not the toy.That's a really interesting analogy. I think that explains it pretty good.

My children do not have a lot of toys and I find that they do not need any, as they can completely imagine everything. They do not even do the "rock as car" play as much as they imagine that they are holding a car or even driving in the car.

My dd recently told me she can make herself small and use her mind to travel between the walls. :lol
She didn't have to actually see the insides of the walls to imagine a whole other way to travel through the house, kwim?

[teachma]

This topic interests me as well. My 20 month old daughter is the queen of imaginative play (she's always handing me "mail" and asking me to open and read it, or pretending she's a kitty-cat) whereas my 5 year old son completely skipped this stage and has never done any pretend play at all. (His little sis is kind of sucking him in now, though.) We don't have tons of toys, but the ones we have are the kind that are more likely to foster creative play. Like a previous poster, I'm not the kind to get down on the floor and make believe unless my children initiate it, so maybe ds just needed more direct teaching in this area and I missed my opportunity. So how will that affect him in the long-term, I'm wondering?

[Marsupialmom]

I have two very imaginative children. They just pretend automatically.

Then I have my literal child. I enjoyed pretending with my first child. We would do pretend tea parties with pretend things. My literal child needs the tea and tea pot to be a tea party. Which is ok. Adding these "prompt" triggers her creativeness. She is more in to pretend but doesnt enjoy it as much as the other two. She handles problems completely different.

So I do think personality plays a part.

[LeftField]

In imaginative play, children:
1. think for themselves
2. play out incidents that are bothering them
3. further develop parts of their brain
4. reinforce new things they've learned
5. develop creativity
6. reinforce self-motivation and self-directed ways
7. blow off steam and reduce stress

I don't encourage or discourage it. I just provide them with an open-ended environment and give them space to do their thing. Kids today are too micro-managed, IMHO.

[mamallama]

My 4yo is very into imaginative play. She outlines the scenario for me, and then I go along for as long as I can. It's really, really hard for me to pay attention for a sustained period of time, but it's important to her, so I try. I'm the best at it when it blends in with what we're all ready doing. For example, she wants a snack, so she stands in the dining room entrance and waits for me to escort her to her table. She listens to the "specials," peruses the menu, asks questions, reminds her dolly to use good manners....My role is the hostess/server/chef/cashier.

In that case, I guess she's using imaginative play to feel powerful and in charge. She's trying out a grown-up role.

Other times she explores things she doesn't quite grasp.

Sometimes she works out distressing situations. Her dolls get into mischief, they get hurt, they say mean things to each other, they apologize....

Her imaginary friend, Jackie, is a daily accomplice. Jackie's role is generally the scape-goat. Jackie also relays information that dd isn't ready to own. For example, my fabric shears are missing. I ask dd if she knows where they are (she's not supposed to use them.) She doesn't. A few minutes later dd comes to me and says that Jackie had them and they're now on the table. (fwiw, I told dd to remind Jackie that those particular scissors are very sharp and also easily damaged, so I'm unwilling to share them.)

Jackie also serves as a resource for imaginary experiences. Dd does all kinds of things at Jackie's house--ice skating, rock climbing, cooking on the stove...these experiences come in handy when conversing with older sisters and their friends:)

I think it's interesting, but unless I'm invited (instructed!) to participate, I distance myself from it. I agree that it seems like a lot of kids are micro-managed. I think kids need space and privacy to do their work.

[Sharlla]

When I was a girl (up to my teen years) we played make believe often. If we were swimming we were mermaids, if we were in the woods we were fairies, we would often play house ect.

Its a real joy to now hear my son playing with his action figures and making up stories.

[Daffodil]

Something seems to be missing from most of the replies on this thread. It's as if someone had asked, "What's so great about sex?" and people said things like, "It burns calories and raises your heart rate," or "It provides a way for people to communicate nonverbally with their partners," or "You need to know how to do it so you can reproduce," but no one mentioned that it was actually fun, or talked about orgasms.

When I was a kid, my life was all about playing (and reading), and playing mostly meant imaginative play. What could be more fun than taking all the most interesting and exciting things you can think of and imagining yourself into a situation where those things are happening? You can be part of a family living on a houseboat, being caught up in storms and having all kinds of adventures, or you can be picked up by aliens and taken to their planet, where you live with an alien family and learn all about their culture, or you can make up a story involving action figures who are shipwrecked on an island and captured by cannibals and either get eaten or end up joining the cannibal tribe . . .

Of course, most people here are talking about younger kids who aren't imagining anything nearly so complicated or interesting, but I'd say that imaginative play in 2-year-olds is important because it will eventually lead to really exciting and absorbing imaginative games. And, actually, for a 2-year-old, just pretending to be a kitty probably feels as exciting and absorbing as pretending to live on another planet feels to a 10-year-old.

[teachma]

Then I have my literal child. I enjoyed pretending with my first child. We would do pretend tea parties with pretend things. My literal child needs the tea and tea pot to be a tea party. Which is ok. Adding these "prompt" triggers her creativeness. She is more in to pretend but doesnt enjoy it as much as the other two. She handles problems completely different.

So I do think personality plays a part.

You pegged it for me! My ds is very literal. However...if you supply him with things like post-its, string, tape and other random supplies, he will create maps, traps, life-sized spider webs around the house. You name it. Would this be considered imaginative play, or something else? He just doesn't really like toys or creating pretend scenarios, but he thinks a lot while he plays.

[Proudmomoftwins]

I think imaginative play leads to children who are creative thinkers and problem-solvers, two traits I want to encourage...

Dar

That's just what I was thinking!

[Dragonfly]

I think imaginative play leads to children who are creative thinkers and problem-solvers, two traits I want to encourage...

Dar

:nod

It's really interesting to see now that creative thinking (or, in corporate lingo, "thinking outside the box" :lol) is a HUGE attraction point for employers. It's as though they're finally catching up with nature a little and looking for human beings rather than the workers bees that previous generations tried to churn out. The kids who are allowed to nurture their imaginations are going to be in a great place. That's true for more than just future employment, though. Imaginative play is one of the primary ways that children work through more complex concepts (good and evil, power, etc.). Children who aren't allowed to do this can really suffer (and I think we see that a lot with our current generation of adults).

Unfortunately, I think parents often get in the way of it by trying to involve themselves too much and molding the play to suit their needs (rather than letting the child be the leader or even the sole player).

[Dragonfly]

You pegged it for me! My ds is very literal. However...if you supply him with things like post-its, string, tape and other random supplies, he will create maps, traps, life-sized spider webs around the house. You name it. Would this be considered imaginative play, or something else? He just doesn't really like toys or creating pretend scenarios, but he thinks a lot while he plays.

I think it's absolutely imaginative play! Imagination isn't just limited to pretending. It's seeing the potential in the things in front of you.

It sounds like you have a MacGyver on your hands. :lol

[onlyzombiecat]

A good article on benefits of imaginative play (http://familyfun.go.com/parenting/child/behavior/feature/dony29fapretend/dony29fapretend2.html).
Recent brain research has convinced many parents of the importance of providing their children with stimulating early experiences--reading and talking to them and taking them on excursions. What parents often don't realize or value, however, is that preschool-aged children absorb those experiences and make sense of their world most effectively when engaged in imaginative play. Preschoolers who spend more time in dramatic play are more advanced not only in general intellectual development but also in their ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

I think a healthy imagination in a child is important later in life because those are the people who will be more able to solve problems or come up with new ideas in all disciplines. We need people who can think on their own and imagine new possibilities.

I don't think a parent actually has to do a lot to encourage imaginative play but go along with what your child does. It is very natural for kids to use their imaginations to role play or create. These days I think the best thing is to make sure first your young child has the free time to just play and pretend... and even get bored sometimes. After that I think providing a selection of toys/props that are not all battery operated electronic devices is most important. A child can do a lot with really simple things.

[Marsupialmom]

I think what was I trying to get at is how much and what triggers imagination and pretend play shouldn't be limited.

Some kids need various triggers. Even the one that annoys you. :lol For my lacks of imagination child an electronic doll triggered much more immagination and play.

[eilonwy]

Something seems to be missing from most of the replies on this thread. It's as if someone had asked, "What's so great about sex?" and people said things like, "It burns calories and raises your heart rate," or "It provides a way for people to communicate nonverbally with their partners," or "You need to know how to do it so you can reproduce," but no one mentioned that it was actually fun, or talked about orgasms.

I had a very similar thought. :lol I'm glad I'm not alone in this.

Imaginative play is fun and it feels good, mentally and physically. It does all sorts of wonderful things for your children, and it does wonderful things for parents, too. It's fun to pretend that you're an airplane (or a supersonic jet :rolleyes) or that you're the main ingredient in BeanBean Stew. :lol Sure, BeanBean is probably learning all kinds of things about entertaining himself and playing and thinking outside of the box (even as he is climbing into a box), but the fact is that if it wasn't enjoyable, we wouldn't do it. It's fun for me to watch him, and to participate. I like eating the pretend cake and listening to the imaginary baby with the pretend doppler. I get a real charge out of making BeanBean Stew, and nearly peed myself laughing when he said, "Don't forget the garlic!" It's a good thing. Imaginative play is one thing that doesn't have to be scheduled and something that I find happening througout the day even if I don't initiate it or become terribly involved (what do you think the kids do while I'm on MDC? I'm not gonna let them turn the stove on... :shake :lol).

Not all imaginative play is the same; like teachma I have a son who's very literal in some respects but he's still got quite an imagination. :nod When he plays tea party (often!) he prefers to do it with actual hot water and cups. When he pretends to bake a cake, he hands me something to "take a bite" of every single time. And, given just about anything he can and will find a way to play with it. Just about half an hour ago, for example, he picked up my half-eaten bowl of lunch and put it into a basket; he then used this prop to reenact a scene from The Secret Garden (1997 version): "You 'aven't touched your porride; Didn't you want it?" in a perfect imitation of Martha's Yorkshire accent. :lol Adorable!

[meemee]

children who do really enjoy imaginative play - they will find the props. it doesnt matter if they have an electronic doll. they will play with the electronics for a little while but once the novelty wears off its just a doll that joins the group.

i have noticed two kinds of imaginary play children enjoy. one without props where the child uses nothing but jabbers to themself and uses whatever they can at hand. and the other who uses props but also turns it into something else. like a veggie turning into a truck.

i remember one thing i admired about my fav. aunt was that she would always see something else in a particular object. seh would change it move it around and turn it into something really, really cool. or she woudl take something really ordinary and add a little bit of ribbon here and a little lace there and turn it into something really pretty and unique. i really wish i had that. she was always known in the family as the story teller.

and oh yes the fun! the joy of true play which needs nothing to restrict it. i dont think i really encourage or discourage my dd but i definitely join her (i am sure some people think i am the crazy lady at the grocery store when we ask the 'air' for their opinion on what cereal to buy). for instance this morning she thought my plain oatmeal with brown sugar sounded absolutely delicious (over the phone - i was at work). and she got sad as she wanted some NOW even though she already had a bowl of flavoured oatmeal for bfast at her dads. so i sent her some of my oatmeal thru the phone and she 'ate' it and liked it. oh the joys of hearing a sad voice turn into peals of laughter and enthusiasm again. i enjoy it as much as my dd does.

[LunaMom]

I agree that you don't need to do much to encourage imaginative play - it seems to come naturally to most children. All you really need to do is make sure they have lots of open-ended things to play with, rather than the kinds of toys some others describe, that dictate the play themselves.

A word on electronic toys - this is my biggest problem with them. It drives me nuts, for example, that all those cute classic Fisher-Price toys like the farm, the house, the school bus, etc., now have computer chips and make sounds. So the children who play with them don't need to make the Little People talk anymore. When the kids make them talk, they can do whatever they want, but when the child is limited to a couple of electronic sayings, well, you know how it goes.

I think all you need to actually DO is go along with whatever they're pretending when they're toddlers - you know, if they hand you a bucket of sand and say it's a cake, you should blow out the candle and take a pretend bite and so on. But once they're older, you don't need to do much at all! I actually can't join in - I can't play princesses or school or whatever - but DD manages to do fine without me!

[eilonwy]

A word on electronic toys - this is my biggest problem with them. It drives me nuts, for example, that all those cute classic Fisher-Price toys like the farm, the house, the school bus, etc., now have computer chips and make sounds. So the children who play with them don't need to make the Little People talk anymore. When the kids make them talk, they can do whatever they want, but when the child is limited to a couple of electronic sayings, well, you know how it goes.

I think it would bother me more if I'd actually met children who were incapable of thinking of other things to do with those toys... but I have met few, if any. My niece had only two electronic toys which she couldn't find another use for once she'd exhausted everything that the microchip did. Those toys didn't get played with much, but the others like talking dolls and rattles and whatnot... well, there were plenty of other things to do with them.

My biggest complaint is that when a child throws a toy with a microchip, there's usually something hard and plastic flying, so it'll hurt if it hits you. :blush :lol

[joandsarah77]

whereas my 5 year old son completely skipped this stage and has never done any pretend play at all.

I'm curious, what did he do instead?

classic Fisher-Price toys like the farm, the house, the school bus, etc., now have computer chips and make sounds. So the children who play with them don't need to make the Little People talk anymore.

We have quite a few of these sets (not the house or bus so I don't know about them...) and in none of them do the people talk. The castle makes a trumpet fan fair sound, the zoo makes animal sounds. The bird 'sound' is sombody whistling a tune which I find really dumb, but dd likes it :lol
She only has the smaller farm sets which make no sounds at all. I know the larger farm does the animal sounds. The fun park has music and a ride sound. She also has the ark which also makes no sounds and takes no batteries. :thumb I have also found the novelty of pressing a button for the sound quickly diminishes, and my dd still plays imaginatly with them and makes sounds for them. off course there is also the option of not putting in batteries with younger kids. :mischief

I was reading a thread here on here about Playmobile. It sounds like great stuff! I've only ever seen the occational small set over here, and it's so pricey! Lego is really expensive too, but is everywhere so easier to get.
I'm thinking I should start hunting online or ebay for some.

For those that have it, is it better then Lego? Say for instance is the lego or Playmobile Lego pirate ship the best? Is it more expensive or cheaper then Lego?

[NoHiddenFees]

A word on electronic toys - this is my biggest problem with them. It drives me nuts, for example, that all those cute classic Fisher-Price toys like the farm, the house, the school bus, etc., now have computer chips and make sounds. So the children who play with them don't need to make the Little People talk anymore. When the kids make them talk, they can do whatever they want, but when the child is limited to a couple of electronic sayings, well, you know how it goes.We have a monthly game day for our adult friends. Usually there are four or five kids about the age of DD1 who get free run of the rest of the house to play (they can hang out with us too if they wish). All but one of the kids is no- or limited TV, no electronic toys, etc. The last game day, the other girl brought two Care Bears <shudder>. I thought they were just like the old ones that came out in the 80's... but no: These bears talk to EACH OTHER. :yikes: The other kids had no idea things toys like this even existed. DD1 wanted to examine them to figure out how they worked, but the girl didn't want anyone to touch them because "you're just supposed to look at them." Talk about taking the child completely out of the play!

We have instituted the first (and hopefully only) GD rule: no electronic toys.

[eilonwy]

the girl didn't want anyone to touch them because "you're just supposed to look at them." Talk about taking the child completely out of the play!
That's really sad... :shake

[sunnysideup]

:topic For those that have it, is it better then Lego? Say for instance is the lego or Playmobile Lego pirate ship the best? Is it more expensive or cheaper then Lego? Playmoblie and Lego are both great toys that my kids enjoyed for years. As far as which is best, I think that depends on the child and personal preference. Lego is a building toy, playmobile is not. The Lego pirate ship is fairly complicated to put together, so might be best suited for age 7+ (guessing). Once you've put together a Lego set it can be played with, but not too vigorously or it will fall apart. At our house the set eventually ends up in a big bin with all the other Legos where it gets used to make other ships or buildings or whatever. The Playmobile pirate ship might appeal to a younger child because you don't need to put it together or worry about it falling apart. As far as expense, they are both pricey, but you get so many years of play out of them it's worth it IMO.

[LunaMom]

I think it would bother me more if I'd actually met children who were incapable of thinking of other things to do with those toys... but I have met few, if any. My niece had only two electronic toys which she couldn't find another use for once she'd exhausted everything that the microchip did. Those toys didn't get played with much, but the others like talking dolls and rattles and whatnot... well, there were plenty of other things to do with them.



I actually have met that child! I had a friend whose son was the same age as DD and the kid barely owned any toys that didn't do things for him. And when DD tried to play with his things imaginatively, he would get mad and say, "No! You're supposed to do THIS" and show her how to work the electronic parts. The same boy adored playing with DD's Thomas train set whenever he came to my house, and when I told his parents how much he loved it, they went out and bought some Thomas stuff for him - BUT they got him the battery-operated Thomas. Wouldn't you know it, he would sit and watch Thomas move around the track. And when DD tried to play, too, he would once again "correct" her. I tried buying him Legos and puzzles and such, but they never got played with.

It's great that other people's children get bored of the electronic features of things and find other ways to play with them, but my DD, when faced with an electronic toy, would usually just push buttons over and over. Maybe because it was a novelty, who knows.

[Suzetta]

I think it is important to allow children to express their own preferences for play, and if they have great imaginations, by all means don't stand in their way. They might be the future book-writers, inventors or scientists. However, other kids may be more concrete witht their play and thought processes. They shouldn't be pushed. They might be the future doctors or accountants. I used to hate it when adults tried to make me go into imaginative territories that just didn't appeal to me.

[luckylady]

Wasn't it Einstein who said imagination is more important than knowledge? These days, young children are force fed "educational" toys and videos and I truly believe that it will short circuit their brains - a pathway is growing and being cemented where there shouldn't be one yet. Parents are in a competition of whose whild is smartest - but to me, smart does not mean that my child can recite the ABC's at 18 months and count to 100 by age 2. Big deal.

To answer the OP - imaginative play is all about brain development. Imagine a bolt of lightening - this is similar to a brain synapse - it branches off and hits many areas - this is what imaginative play does - a child is free to explore and develop imagination/creativity. They are better able to integrate right brain / left brain functions and think with their whole brain rather than a single part. Ever heard of use it or lose it? This applies to our brains - we are born with billions of brain cells, and by age 10 the ones that are not used die. Imaginative play is a foundation - a child is building bridges in their brains, so to speak, to think in abstracts.

I totally agree with open ended playthings, and exposure to things that are not for play at all. I took a creativity class once where we "competed" againt 7 and 8 year olds. It was called the other use game. The teacher placed an object on the table and we had 1 minute to list as many other uses for it that for what it was "intended" - being that I grew up in an environment that encouraged my imagination, I was pretty good at this! But the kids killed us. For every 10 things we thought of, the kids thought of 30.

The teacher was demonstrating the power of imaginative thinking without adult "shoulds/can'ts/impossibilities. We are all born inherently brilliant and our children need a nurturing environment that allows imagination to blossom!

This is a passion of mine, can you tell? LOL. I have studied play and imagination pretty extensively. If you want to purchase a CD or audio download about imagination and play, go here: http://ttfuture.org/services/publications/cd_audio_pearce.htm

imagination is everywhere - it doesn't just have to be in toys. You can use imagination in everything, all the time. I do! and having a creative/imaginative child is FAR more important to me than one who can do algebra at age 5. Ok, I am done :blah LOL.

[LeftField]

Wasn't it Einstein who said imagination is more important than knowledge?

Yes, it was Einstein. When he had his a-ha! moment with relativity, he was imagining himself being on a beam of light.


I totally agree with open ended playthings, and exposure to things that are not for play at all. I took a creativity class once where we "competed" againt 7 and 8 year olds. It was called the other use game. The teacher placed an object on the table and we had 1 minute to list as many other uses for it that for what it was "intended" - being that I grew up in an environment that encouraged my imagination, I was pretty good at this! But the kids killed us. For every 10 things we thought of, the kids thought of 30.


The best 20 bucks I ever spent on my kids was in the kitchen section of Bed, Bath and Beyond. I got the kids little metal bowls, funnels, a turkey baster, etc. They used those "toys" for all kinds of crazy things and they are still some of the most popular stuff in our house. They get used daily, definitely.

That's wild about your class! I've taken so many lame workshops designed to teach people how to "think outside the box". And today, I think lots of people are concerned with how to teach kids how to think, when they already know how to think. When we were kids, we had hours and hours of "nothing" time. We played and played in our cellar toyroom and outside. We had zero videos (no VCRs then, at least not for most people). We had zero video games (again, you'd have to go to an arcade). Preschool was not popular. Most of our toys didn't talk to us. Our mothers didn't watch every little thing we did and try to turn them into unsolicited learning opportunities. We were left alone and we played all day long. It was blissful; I remember that.

[onlyzombiecat]

Dh's half sister is 6 months younger than our dd and every single toy she owns is battery operated- even the toy kitchen which tells her what to cook and how to cook it. I don't think the toys keep a child from imagining and being creative but when the majority of the toys a child has from birth are that way it creates an environment that says "this is the way to do things" and makes it harder for the child to really develop that imagination to begin with.

[eilonwy]

That's such a bummer... I guess I had one too many battery operated toys as a child, because I have a difficult time imagining a child who wasn't capable of finding something else to do with a toy after the batteries died. :lol I mean, even my niece's Imagination Desk didn't take long to become a stage for herself and for Barbies and a dry-erase board (it's not meant to be one, but it works :shrug) and all kinds of other things... and it's not nearly as "interesting" as dolls or blocks or trains. :shrug

[shanagirl]

Wow, what great thoughts and answers. DD has always been totally into pretending and imaginative play. I think the main, eternal draw of it is that it is all about possibilities. I remember something I heard once about the human brain is hard-wired for optimism--we wouldn't have survived and thrived to the extent we have if it weren't.

I loved the analogy of this being like asking, what's so great about sex? Indeed. What is so great about laughing?

And I loved that experiment between the children and adults. I'm going to try that next time we have a party.

[Dar]

We love playmobil - Rain has enjoyed it for ten years now, and there aren't many toys with that kind of lifespan (granted, not all kids are like Rain, either). The best part of playmobil, I think, are all the little accessories, so kids can make up really elaborate stories with them. The houses have secret doors and cubbyholes, and each set comes with lots of small pieces, so a fruit stand will have lots of fruit, display baskets, a chair, a shopping basket, two or three people (with removable boots and hats and apron), etc. Rain would spend literally hours creating "set-ups", which entailed putting hundreds of items into position and creating a backstory that explained who everyone was an where they were going and what theywere doing. It was amazing...

She had lego but never got into it that much. Lego is more of a building toy than a playing toy, I think. Rain used to play with an older boy "cousin" who had tons of lego, and they would build things...and he would be focused on creating these complicated structires, figuring out how to build bunk beds in the bedrooms and toilets in the bathroom... and she would be focused on the "pretend" aspect of it, with the people, saying, "Let's pretend that he didn't want to share his bathroom so they built another one for his brother, but then his brother's favorite color was red so they made it all red..."

You can get some good deals on playmobil lots on ebay. That's the correct spelling, too - Playmobil - but sometimes you can find deals by searching "playmobile". There's also a section on playmobil.com with special deals. For the best everyday prices on playmobil, we've found www.puffins.com to be the best, or else check the after-Christmas sales at Target...

dar

[deeporgarten]

In imaginative play, children learn to envision worlds in their minds. They can picture the universe as an immense and rich place, they will be able to picture many possibilities when encountered with a tough challenge later in life.

I think an imaginative child will ultimately be better able to visualize, for instance, a complex scientific process as an adult because their minds have explored and "networked" many complexities of their own, from scratch. The pathways have been opened and practiced for a flexible mind.

Imaginative children can be leaders with real vision as adults--it's the same basic capacity. Imaginative play simply develops more mental capacity, more creative ability, more ability to picture the feelings of others, to make plans for one's life, to have big dreams for oneself, to discover what matters most to you and create a life in the image of truth you discover.

[Liz]

She had lego but never got into it that much. Lego is more of a building toy than a playing toy, I think. Rain used to play with an older boy "cousin" who had tons of lego, and they would build things...and he would be focused on creating these complicated structires, figuring out how to build bunk beds in the bedrooms and toilets in the bathroom... and she would be focused on the "pretend" aspect of it, with the people, saying, "Let's pretend that he didn't want to share his bathroom so they built another one for his brother, but then his brother's favorite color was red so they made it all red..."
dar

That's just 2 different styles of imaginative play. He's imagining and creating a thing and she's imagining and creating a scene. When I was little I really didn't like playing house and all of those scenario games but I loved building stuff with Lego and other things. I now design products (like Michael Graves, for example) and every product designer I know was a Lego kid. Now Lego has gotten a lot more "set" oriented, it used to be much more open ended, but it sounds like this boy is making things from his imagination so you may have a budding designer on your hands!