Curiosity is a wonderful characteristic, as it is only by following curiosity have humans done things like sail across the ocean and land on the moon. But curiosity is something that must be nurtured like any other trait. One great way to nurture it in children is by promoting activities that spark kids' imagination. Here are three great ways of doing so:
Two Great Ways To Spark Kids' Imagination
- Make Space for Creativity
Much of parenting advice today causes heated debates due to opposing arguments on various topics, such as how the book Freakonomics explores how parents fall prey to the correlation vs. causation trap when raising children. It illustrates how frustrating it is for experts to constantly advocate contradictory and frequently changing theories, i.e. the advocacy switch back and forth multiple times from pro to anti co-sleeping within just a few short decades.
Well, another such parenting area of a hot debate is what is needed to spark creativity. Many companies and organizing groups are invested in new technologies and new, read "better", toys. These groups build, invest, and market these items as desirable (at least in part) because they promote creativity and spark kids' imagination -- but in reality, the actual science shows the opposite. The actual science shows that when it comes to toys, less is more. Limit how many things your child has and encourage them to use their imagination, to consider new ways of playing and interacting with what they have.
This is also why we love dress-up play and why our team does what we do. We firmly believe that with just a few items, like a pirate sword or astronaut jumpsuit, you can really spark kids' imagination and let them run wild with all of the possibilities.
- Allow Your Child To Get Bored
This is another area in which conventional wisdom or wisdom that is sold to us is just wrong. So many gadgets for both children and adults are made and sold with the goal of never allowing us to be bored. Just think about what you yourself do when you feel bored. You probably do something like scroll through a preferred app, which while not necessarily bad, isn't readily apt to spark your imagination. Likewise, always throwing your child in front of the television or downloading another game for them to play when they are bored isn't going to spark your kid's imagination either.
Instead, allow them to be in situations where they feel bored. Transform that boredom into a learning experience. For example, encourage them to create a boredom jar in which they come up with things to do whenever they feel bored. This in and of itself will encourage creativity, curiosity, and spark kids' imagination.
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Our costumes are great for encouraging creativity and sparking kids' imagination. Visit our online shop today to see our products and have your child pick their favorites for new play ideas. Have questions? Contact us today.