Spark Your Child’s Imagination With Clifford

Has your child ever decided to become a pirate for a day? Pretended to go on a mission to Mars? Decided it would be fun to be a cowpoke by herding cats? Played with her giant red dog that’s bigger than a house?

If so, she’s a lot like Emily Elizabeth — Clifford’s best friend and faithful companion!

Emily Elizabeth’s strong imagination helps her go on all sorts of fun adventures, using only the power of her mind. And while Emily Elizabeth is just an imaginary character, the power of imagination can actually have all sorts of real-world, grown-up benefits.

Just think about it. People of all ages use imagination to accomplish things like inventing new technologies, creating original works of art or conceiving of crazy s’more-donut hybrid breakfast treats that take the nation by storm.

You know you want a s’monut, people.

And you should also want to foster your child’s imaginative skills right now. That’s because kids who exercise their imaginations more tend to:

• Be happier: They’re better able to entertain themselves and are less likely to become bored when left alone.
• Have better social skills: Pretending helps them understand the minds of others, which is an important ingredient of successful social interaction.
• Understand emotions: Kids can use imagination to envision innovative solutions to real-life problems, providing an outlet for their emotions and boosting self-esteem.
• Think wisely: Holding lots of things in mind simultaneously while imagining can boost brain skills like planning, focus, memory and logical reasoning.
• Be more creative: Kids who score highly in imaginativeness and fantasy play in elementary school tend to be more creative through high school as well.

Because imagining is so important to your child, you might be wondering if there’s anything you can do to help her get better at it. Well, of course there is! Just close your eyes and imagine doing all of this:

Reading and discussing books gives your child a greater understanding of how stories are put together, and how she might create her own. Books are incredible ways to spark open doors to new ideas, solutions and adventures. As Emily Elizabeth and Clifford find in Clifford the Big Red Dog, books are often the jumping-off point for some of the greatest adventures — such as becoming pirates for the day or embarking on an out-of-this-world space race! Check out these Clifford books to get your child's creative juices flowing.

In addition to reading lots of books, our kids love to hear stories “from our minds” too. These off-the-cuff tales — fantastical ones from our imaginations, and remembered ones from our childhoods — demonstrate that anyone can generate stories and that they’re fun to create and share. Or ask your child to make up a story and draw pictures to share it with you.

With the simple addition of a cape, crown, clown nose or cowboy hat, your child can imagine what it’s like to become a whole different person (at least for a little while). And when parents participate in kids’ imaginative play, it can last longer and contain more complex themes and stories. But try not to take over — stop and observe before you join in, and be sure to let your little one lead the pretending as much as possible.

Games create opportunities for family fun, plus hone useful critical thinking, planning, problem-solving and imagination skills. Here are a few particularly inventive examples:

• The “What If” Game: During down times like sitting at the dinner table or waiting in line at the supermarket, pose a fantastical “What if…” question to your child and see how she answers. “What if Clifford plopped down on the table right now?” “What if people had eight fingers on each hand?” In this game, anything is possible.
• “Conclude the Doodle” Game: Take turns drawing line fragments — like a jagged line, curlicue or semicircle — and then challenge each other to fill in an entire picture around it. Dare your little one to stretch her imagination by creating something unexpected and adding lots of extra details.
• “Play the Show”: Encourage your child to act out her favorite show or pretend to be their favorite character. Does she want to take her friend Clifford for a walk around the neighborhood? Go on the ferry to Birdwell Island? Not only does this exercise her imagination, it also helps teach empathy as she practices role playing others’ feelings.

Through the power of play and imagination, Emily Elizabeth and Clifford brave exciting new adventures together, exploring their home and meeting new friends. Your child can have her own adventures too! Exploring varied environments like museums, gardens, waterfronts and treetops can expose your child to experiences that will help inspire and expand her imagination.

Playthings like blocks, markers, paper, balls and playdough don’t have to be used in a single, fixed way. Keep plenty of these materials around for children to experiment with. Add a little imagination, and the possibilities are absolutely endless.

Kids need their imaginations most when there is absolutely nothing else to do. So give your busy little bee frequent breaks from her all-too-easily overloaded schedule. Just like Emily Elizabeth, let her play independently with no structured activities or other distractions — you’ll be amazed at what your child dreams up.

How do you inspire your child’s imagination?