Let’s Pretend! Your Two-Year Old’s Imagination

Many parents may not realize how important a child’s imagination is, even at two-years old. Parents need to work on developing it, along with their two-year old’s physical and intellectual development. Your two-year old’s imagination helps him develop in many different areas.

If you allow your child to play imaginary games, they are going to be working on improving their vocabulary. You can also help improve your child’s vocabulary by reading stories aloud to your child or telling them stories that you make up. Other family members can also tell your child stories from books or made up. Allowing your child to listen to fairy tales on tape can also help increase their imagination, which will help improve their vocabulary.

Letting your two-year old pretend allows them to be anyone they want to be: doctors, vets, maids and so on. It also allows them to practice things that they have learned and let’s them take control of a situation and have it turn out the way they want it too. Letting your two-year-old take control when they are playing out stories, such as the three little pigs beating the wolf, can give your child the sense that they can take control even in unfamiliar situations. It also gives them the feeling that they can be powerful.

Trying to get along with other people can be a difficult task for two-year olds because they do not know all of the social rules. Allowing your child to play at the park with other kids or even in playgroups will help; they figure out what the rules are to being social. When children get together, their imaginations come out and they can build anything or do anything. Giving your child the opportunity to build sandcastles or a play house teaches them the rules about sharing and resolving conflicts.

Your child’s imagination is also going to be used later on in life to solve problems. If you allow your child to think up imaginary situations, you are allowing them to think creatively in real life, which the more they are allowed to be imaginative, the higher the chance that they will be imaginative when they get older. Their imagination can help them solve problems in life because it will allow them to think up creative solutions to problems, which will make them more resourceful. The more resourceful your child is, the better they will be able to handle challenges and difficult situations.

One of the best things that you can do to help encourage your child’s imagination is to provide them with the tools that they are going to need to use their imagination. Reading your child stories is a great way to expand their vocabulary, but it also helps fuel their imagination. In addition to reading stories, you can also share stories with your two-year old. Involve your two-year old in the story process, by using their name, which will expand their sense of self. You can also trade off lines with your child, if they are not ready for full sentences yet have them name the characters in the story.

One of the best tools you can give your two-year old is to encourage their pretend play. Through pretend play, your two-year old is going to learn a lot through dramatizing their ordinary and fantasy lives. Your two-year old will be developing social and verbal skills; they will also learn how to work out emotional issues by replaying situations where they felt happy, sad, angry, or scared. To encourage this pretend play you will need to provide your child with the props that are needed. Use a trunk or a toy box and fill it with towels, plastic bracelets, old clothes, and other things that your child can use in their imaginative play.