In her post last month, Elizabeth
Alsobrook mentioned that teachers bemoan the fact that kids don’t have
imaginations or creativity any more. Instead of playing make-believe, they play
video games. While I think there’s some truth to that, I also beg to differ.
Many video games are imaginative. The player assumes a make-believe identity.
They have to stretch their imagination to go on quests or use their wits to
defeat the enemy. As with any games, television, or movies, a constant diet of
them can dull the senses.
Having said that, I also think that parents don’t help their
kids to use their imaginations to play make-believe. Remember when the best
"toys" were boxes? Or when a blanket thrown over a table became a
fort or a magical cave?
As many of you know, my son and his family stayed with us
for two months this summer while they looked for a house. During that time, I
spent a lot of time with their two-year-old. Once a day, we watched “Daniel
Tiger’s Neighborhood” inspired by “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.” (remember that
show?) During the half-hour program on PBS, Daniel enters a make-believe land
where he and his friends play make-believe. Toddler Girl avidly watched the
show, nodding her head when Daniel asked if she wanted to play make-believe. In
one episode, the children constructed a make-believe spaceship out of
cardboard. When my older (7.5 and 10) grandchildren came over to play with their
cousin, they found a good-size box I was going to throw out. Together, using
scissors (the older kids), crayons, markers, and stickers, they built a
spaceship. The older kids tugged the ship around the room as they “zoomed” to
the stars and planets. Another time, Toddler Girl used a clothes basket for a
boat and sang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (she only knows the first three words
of the song) as she scooted across the floor.
Games like that exercise the imagination. But how do they
get started? Reading. I always read to my children. Now that they are parents, they and
their spouses read to their kids every night. When Hubs and I babysit, we read
to them before bed, too—at least we did until they said they could read faster and asked us not
to. LOL
It’s too easy to let the kids watch TV on their own, or play
video games without input from the parents. If our children (as a whole) are
lacking in imagination, it’s because they don’t know how. Encouraging them to
play make-believe is essential before they start school. When Toddler Girl
watches “Daniel Tiger” she sits on my lap. I talk to her during the episode,
asking questions to keep her engaged. I did the same when the older grandkids
were little.
One thing I did with the older ones that I can’t wait to
play with TG is My StoryMaker,
an online program from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The kids write their
own stories with avatars for characters, hints for goals, action, and conflict.
I introduced the grandkids to it when the oldest was four. Eventually, the
younger one wanted his turn. They told the story while I typed. Using the touch
screen, they could add characters, scenery, tools and other items. Each time, I
was blown away by their imaginations. The best part was we could print out the
story for them to share with their parents.
While I agree that many kids today aren't given enough chances
to play make-believe, parents or grandparents need to give them those
opportunities. I’m fortunate that I’m retired and my grandkids all live close
by. I have the time and patience I didn’t have as a young mother. For the
ultra-busy parents of today, there must be a way to carve out a half hour to
read and/or play make-believe. By doing so, we are feeding their imagination,
which is as necessary as feeding their bodies.
If we as parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents don’t feed
those imaginations, where will the future writers, artists, screenwriters, visionaries come from?
