When my son was 4, he had two imaginary friends, Tanken and Tonken from Italy (obviously), who were very good at keeping him company when I was busy nursing his baby sister. Eventually they disappeared, and I found that I missed hearing about their many adventures. This is probably why one of my favorite things to do these days is listen in on my 3-year-old daughter when she is playing by herself. She has a big imagination, and the adventures her toys go on always make me smile.
I firmly believe that all kids are blessed with great creativity, so I love all of these stories from other moms about the times they've seen their kids using those weird and wonderful imaginations of theirs!
Do your kids love to use their imaginations too?
Image © YuryImaging/shutterstock
Shampoo vs. Conditioner
"My daughter loves to play in the bath and will happily stay there for an hour if I let her.
One night I heard a lot of splashing and went to check on her and overheard her narrating an epic battle between 'Super Shampoo Guy' and 'Crazy Conditioner Man.'
Apparently, they are arch enemies. Who knew?"
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Puzzle Reunion
"I was listening to my 3-year-old daughter as she was doing a puzzle and it was so funny! She was pretending that the puzzle was a family and that every piece was someone in the family who was 'missing.'
As she put the pieces together, she'd say, 'Okay, now you are back with your mommy' or 'Uncle, time to go home now!' It was so cute."
Sick Puppies
"My 5-year-old is obsessed with puppies. She was playing in the basement, and I went down to discover that she had used blankets and couch cushions to build an elaborate puppy hospital.
She had her 2-year-old brother drive them in on a dump truck 'ambulance,' and then they'd lay on a book that was the exam table so she could 'fix the owies.'
She used about 50 plastic bandages from the first aid kit without my realizing, but at least all the stuffed puppies survived."
Backyard Soup
"Awesome: Your kids spend two hours in the backyard making 'soup' out of weeds, bits of trash, pebbles, flowers, and whatever else they could find.
Not awesome: Their asking you to drink some and being very serious about watching to make sure you REALLY try it."
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Time-Out
"My daughter and son were playing a game where she was the 'mean mommy' (hmm) and was putting the stuffed animals in time-out for being naughty.
My son was the 'nice daddy' who was sneaking them back out of time-out. When my daughter saw them gone, she'd chase him and put them back in.
Take a wild guess who the disciplinarian is in our house. Go on, guess."
Live-Action Video Game
"After I kicked my boys out into the backyard so they'd take a break from the video games, I looked out to discover them playing a live-action version of the same game!
They were using puddles as jumping obstacles, were throwing balls as 'fireballs,' and even had a neighbor girl pretending to be the princess who needed rescuing."
Toy Wedding
"After going to friend's wedding, my daughter started marrying off all of her toys in increasingly elaborate ceremonies.
Sometimes the combination of bride and groom were, well, a little odd. Her stuffed dog married the xylophone. Her doll married the wagon. Her teddy bears did marry each other though. I guess they aren't as liberal as the rest of the toys."
Just Like Mommy
"When I had my second child, my 2-year-old son struggled a little with jealously over not getting as much time and attention. One day I walked past his room and saw him pretending to breastfeed a stuffed animal while telling his other toys, 'You got to have the patience now! We play later!'
He also created a game called 'Bite the Baby' that, thankfully, he only played once before we caught him."
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Firefighters
"My sons' favorite pretend game to play is 'brave firemen.' They'll put on their firefighter costumes and go put a stuffed cat in a tree and pretend that all the trash cans in the street are on fire.
This is very cute but about gave one of our neighbors a heart attack one day when they came running down the street yelling 'FIRE' at the top of their lungs.
She called 911, and they got to meet real firemen who told them not to yell that so loudly again."
We Are Family
"One of the things we like best about our block is that there are a lot of kids. The kids tend to run in a pack in the summer, running from yard to yard. They were in our yard the other day and through the window I heard one of the girls yelling, 'You'd better listen to me! I'm the mother!'
They've apparently been playing a game they call 'Family' where they all have a role and the parents are in charge of the kids, but the kids are always trying to escape from the parents.
They've been playing it for days now and my 7-year-old son just told me that he is getting married tomorrow and becoming a 'dad.' I'm so proud?"
Superheroes
"My 3-year-old is apparently a super villain.
This is according to her 7-year-old brother, a.k.a. 'Fart Boy.' Fart Boy is a superhero who works with 'Dog Girl' and 'Stink Man' (neighbor kids) to defeat the evil 'Diaper Girl.'
My daughter is so excited that the big kids are playing with her that I don't think she has any idea that she is the 'bad guy' in their ongoing drama."
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