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As a clinical psychologist, you might think that I would be fascinated by the stages of development as I watch my young children grow and develop. After all, we study these things a lot and pay close attention to the developmental stages for the mind as toddlers grow into little boys and girls with cognitive skills developing at a rate that surprises us over and over. But I find that my own personal experience with my two boys (ages three and five) has been very much like that of one of my supervisors while I was still a clinical intern during my training as a psychologist. He told me that he was so interested in his children as people that this absorption in loving his children left no room for contemplating their developmental stages as he had previously anticipated he would do before the children arrived. I had no children at the time when he told me this, but now I find the same to be true, with one exception.
I find that I am fascinated by my boy’s endless capacity for imagination. It’s something that develops from a young age and aids them with everything from focusing on mathematics to sitting quietly in the car during long trips to see their grandparents. It’s unfortunate but true that in modern society, developed nations have created somewhat of a problem by over-stimulating children with toys and activities that leave little room for imaginative play.
Do you remember when you were a child left to your own imagination to make simple toys without buttons or noise come to life for the scenarios you played out in your mind? I remember these times with fondness. I mostly played with small “dinky cars” as we called them. I would sit in a spot in our backyard where the grass had worn away enough to reveal a bit of dusty earth. I would carve out little roads with the tires of my cars and imagine the traffic scenes and scenarios playing out with the simple toys. Others may remember using dolls to create interpersonal scenarios while playing house with friends or by themselves. The point is, we were bored enough that our imaginations became interesting.
That boredom seems to be disappearing from industrialized societies in the lives of our children. Just walk through the toy aisle at Walmart and you will be accosted by the overwhelming blaring sounds from various brightly colored buttons designed to capture your child’s attention just long enough for the toy to be purchased.
When our five-year-old was a toddler, I remember my wife bringing home one of those ring stackers that infants play with, stacking brightly colored plastic rings on a simple base. Only this one had batteries and made all kinds of noises and songs. She took out the batteries on the principle that she didn’t want to listen to noise that was unnecessary and distracting from the purpose of the toy (learning dexterity and satisfaction from the control needed to get one’s tiny chubby hands to put the rings in place). Who needs the glaring light and ridiculous song to make this toy that we all played with when we were children a fun toy?
Tents for kids provide hours of imaginative play. Indoor tents are useful during winter months and hot summer days when children can move around and play with their mind and their body while developing scenarios with their imagination. I have found it fascinating to watch my boys’ imaginations at work as they pretend they are trains going into a shed or hunters escaping from each other when the other sibling is pretending to be some sort of beast, or simply finding a sense of ownership in solitude while reading a book inside the tent. The point is, indoor play tents provide a stimulus for imagination, but they do not replace the need to use imagination for the play to unfold. That’s why I’m a fan.
Dr. Todd Snyder is a clinical psychologist and the creator of a complete self-motivation and self-help system. You can see more about these play tents at ChildrensTents.Org.
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