Is the Tooth Fairy real? How about the garbage man? Those questions may seem trivial, but how young children answer them is an important indicator of cognitive development.
For years, imagination was thought of as a way for children to escape from reality, and once they reached a certain age, it was believed they would push fantasy aside and deal with the real world. But, increasingly, child-development experts are recognizing the importance of imagination and the role it plays in understanding reality. Imagination is necessary for learning about people and events we don’t directly experience, such as history or events on the other side of the world. For young kids, it allows them to ponder the future, such as what they want to do when they grow up.
Wall Street Journal (thanks, Tammy)
There’s a role here in Winnicott’s ‘good enough’ carer, who both weans the child off ‘magical thinking’ (in the psychoanalytical sense) and so helping them to live in the world.
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/psychoanalysis/concepts/good-enough_mother.htm
It also makes sense for parents and teachers to help the child find a workable position for creativity, helping them both sustain innovative thought whilst also knowing when to turn it on and off.
Dave
Pfft. Of course the garbage man isn’t real. It would just be silly to believe in him *rolls eyes*
the tooth fairy is definitely more real round here than the garbage man is…
Why does everyone think creativity = imaginative & scientific doesn’t ?
Mr Brown could come up with a brand new never before seen totally inovative telly programme, it would just be another programme.
Mr baird thought up the television. That took a far greater leap of imagination !
I’ve been telling people for years that there is more imaginaion in science than there ever could be in art.
Depends quite a lot on how the child’s parents have educated it. If your parents start telling you about santa then that is probably someone that exists. The childeren really know that it is someone who dresses weird and gives presents .. all the other stuff is not really what they will see as that real at all, that is my opinion .. they can not explain either how santa flies with his reindeer or comes through the chimney .. but hey .. if the grown ups say that that is true … you sort of see it like that but it’s not really of importance to childeren.
What if a child’s imagination stays on the inside, but never gets to the outside …. What if a child goes on and on verbally about his fantasies but never sees it on the inside … There is no standard in all of this.
Crisp clear psyche is what childeren have on the inside …
In a way it is kinda sad that you can communicate normally yet with very young childeren, they are quite alone inside .. And will be dragged down first quite a lot by their own bodies …. It’s not doable without that type of process but hey …some will develop from their .. others wont adapt to their bodies that much. The last ones might fantasize the much as the warmth and comfort of a body surrounding them is not on in them. Why they wont adapt .. is it because it might kill themselves, will someone else take over completely?
Is it a not so healthy body that would be the case then that drives them out of there .. Childeren dont like eating either for a very long time .. it depresses them … takes them down .. to another brain pattern. It shows quite well in the eyes. It seems to be quite hard to be inside of a body, also for them
I agree that having a good imagination is important as I’m a media student and I read still to keep my mind active. Anyway the main Point I want to make is everytime I try to remember something or create a new piece of film or radio braodcast I use my imagination and I draw to keep it and to start flowing and then my imagination just takes over and I create great pieces. I feel Imagination helps to Success and to imagine what you want to do so helps as it has with my course towards my hopefully future career. Can’t spell lol Yeah I’m 17 and still use it lol. That was Long lol.
As long as children know when growing up which is real & which is fantasy then there is nothing wrong with nurturing imagination at all. Imagination is probably one of the most powerful things we possess. The ability to create something through what our mind comes up with is fantastic indeed.
That’s where I find books are wonderful. I’d be lost without books now & growing up I read some of the most fantastic stories. They just open up a whole new world to feed your imagination.
But I do think it important that facts don’t merge into fiction. I don’t really see the point in learning something about the world if it isn’t true, surely? Unless the child is too young to understand, then truth is always the best policy.
LC x
I agree too, I believe imagination is key to human evolution and understanding… I was born in the eighties and we had some of the best Kids tv shows of that era. Ghostbusters, Thundercats, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles… plus millions of brilliant cartoons… But i look at the garbage they create today. Teletubbies, Twenies, In the night garden, Pepper Pig? are we just dumming down? Ive noticed something in my generation we have quiet a bit of creative spark, im quiet artistic, so is my family of same age or older. But my neices and nephews, kids around that age that grew up with teletubbies, twenies…etc they seem to have no idea how to imagin or be imagantive… think television has dumbed down the nation…
Ha! Love it! I actually believed in the Dust Man until I was fifteen years old. Then my brother told me that it was actually my parents getting up in the middle of the night, every Thursday, and driving the rubbish to the tip. I felt pretty stupid, but some of my friends still insist he’s real
Thechronicler, Night garden, peppa pig etc are aimed at very different ages (0-3 ish) to the 80′s shows you mentioned. maybe kids today don’t get enough breaks from external stimulus to give their imagination chance to kick in. There’s an argument for saying that the more that technology improves in tv and film the less that imagination is needed, though the suspension of disbelief required remains the same. I never remember the strings in Thunderbirds or the very primitive blue screen work in Dr Who having any impact on how much I enjoyed them. I think adult TV, particularly the news, has dumbed down whilst the best examples of kids tv are far less patronising to their audience. A healthy portion of ‘Magical thinking’ in a well balanced upbringing can only do good.
Magic full stop offers endless possibilities for the imagination . in our house every magical,mystical thing excists. father xmas,tooth fairy,fairy god mother,goblins,bogey men. and for those pixies theyve got alot to answer for in my house,right little tealeafs, pinching and hiding everthing im looking for. always right when i need it . they must have a massive pile of single socks. give em back.