Parent to Parent: Imagination Toys

Children
"It goes the other way!" "Oh, whatever!"

But you won't find any high tech toys in this playroom. Instead, mom keeps it stocked with everyday items, like scarves, wool, polished glass, and wood.

The idea? To stimulate imagination.

Joelle Martin, Mom
"If we can really give them objects that will help them stretch their imagination, that's going to be what will serve them in the future."

A recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that parents provide their children with "true toys" such as blocks and dolls, rather than passive toys that they say can limit a child's creativity.

Children
"Hey!"

Your child's imagination can take the simplest objects and create whole new worlds.

A length of rope and few scarves can become a fort.

Scraps of wool can be molded into toy animals.

Colored glass can be transformed into fancy jewels.

And sanded down log slices can be used as building blocks or plates.

Joelle Martin, Mom
"It will help them be problem solvers. It will help them feel like they're mastering things with raw materials. Their confidence just soars."

Club Mom parenting expert, Beverly Breton Carrol, believes it's vital that kids stretch their imagination muscles on a regular basis.

Beverly Breton Carrol, Club Mom Parenting Expert
"Children need to dream. They need to believe anything is possible."

And she says the skills they learn now, through play, will last a lifetime.

Beverly Breton Carrol, Club Mom Parenting Expert
"To build, design, create, innovate -- I think we all want that skill for ourselves. I certainly think we want it for our world."