How to Encourage a Young Child’s Imagination

Tip—A good way to encourage pretend play is simply to start doing it yourself—pick up a stuffed animal and begin to “feed it,” saying, “Oh, he loves cereal.”

I recently had an e-mail from a friend who recounted her four year old daughter’s latest conversation about her imaginary friend, named Dog.

My friend reports that her daughter often “tries out” ideas or behavior on her via the imaginary friend before she really does them. She’s happy that her daughter talks this way, because she gets a chance to discourage certain behaviors—like the toilet bowl exploration above.

Tools—Helen Neville, pediatric advice nurse and author of Is This a Phase? Child Development & Parent Strategies, Birth to 6 Years, comments that it is especially important for us to join in and encourage imaginary play if children haven’t started on their own by age 2 or 2½. (See also last week’s Tip on imagination stages by age.) The following recommendations are drawn from Neville’s book.

• With toddlers. Make “vvrroom vvrrroomm” noises as you move a toy car across the floor. Pretend to be a cat—crawl, “meow,” and rub noses.

• With preschoolers. Invite them to continue their stories. Evan said, “The cow falls off the train,” and had nothing more to add, so Dad asked, “Then what does the cow do?”

• Invite children to process emotions. Use a stuffed animal or doll to ask your child a question, then wait for the answer. “Mommy, do I have to get a shot today?” “When will you come get me from child care?” “How does Bear feel when Mom is away on a trip?”

• Invite children to solve imaginary (and real) problems. “What could we do if our car didn’t work? How would we get some food to eat?”

You’ll find more practical tips you can use right now in Is This a Phase? Child Development & Parent Strategies, Birth to 6 Years by Helen F. Neville, B.S., R.N.

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