Imaginative Play

Toddlers are so literal. For the first year and a half to two years after a child learns to talk, a block is only allowed to be a block. A blanket is only allowed to be a blanket. A monkey is only allowed to be a monkey. Then it seems like overnight around three years old, the child begins to engage in imaginative play. The block suddenly becomes a boat, crossing the blankie shaped waves of crocodile lake. The monkey, well, it’s still a monkey. But it is being swooped up by a pterodactyl and taken to the pterodactyl nest to feed the baby pterodactyl.

This is so fun to experience as a parent. Carina’s imagination takes us to places I’d have a hard time dreaming up. It’s absolutely amazing watching her mind work.