How to boost your child’s imagination

Imagination is the most amazing part of a child’s development. Through imagination, children will learn problem solving and dealing with situations that will face then as they grow. Here are some tips that can help you set the way for them:
Encourage Creativity
When your child comes up with a wild idea, like, “let’s build a theme park” don’t put them down by saying that it’s not realistic, and dangerous etc.. Encourage them by letting them build a small model using whatever material you have available (empty tissue boxes, bottles, paper, cardboard, etc..)
Stories
Let them enter the world of imagination through the children stories that you can get from bookstores. Let them explore the different kinds of writing and characters, fiction and nonfiction.
You can also share your own stories and made-up tales and show them how you’ve built up the plot and characters. You can even use your child as the main character of the story! If your child knows how to write, let them write their own story afterwards, and even illustrate them.
Music
If your child shows interest in music, let her explore different instruments before signing her up for music classes. Make her explore different kinds of music and tunes, while dancing and singing along. She can also make up her own lyrics!
Pretend play
The best way for your child to develop social skills is through pretend play! He can pretend he’s a doctor or a teacher that is dealing with a patient of student. Children will express their own feelings through the scenarios and reactions that you will see in their little ‘play’. Through role playing he will understand cause and effect, and different feelings caused by different situations.
Limit tv
Limit television to only useful programs that are more educational than just a waste of time. Limit tv to on or two hours a day, and make sure to monitor what she is watching. Too much tv limits your child’s imagination as the programs are doing the imagination for them, and is a time that could be spent doing other useful things.
It is ok to be bored
Parents are always worried about constantly entertaining their children and overloading them with after-school activities and extra classes. Here’s the good news, it’s actually good to hear the words ‘I’m bored!’, and is your child’s chance to be creative in amusing herself and boosting her imagination! She will never just sit and do nothing, she WILL create a game, pretend play, or build, write and draw something that is from her own imagination.