How to raise an imaginative child

Make music.Although your toddler isn't ready for structured music lessons, you can still fill his world with music. Listen to a variety of tunes together, and encourage him to participate by singing, dancing, or playing toy or homemade instruments.

Encourage pretend play. Children learn a lot from dramatizing events from their daily — and fantasy — lives. When your toddler invents a scenario and plot line and peoples it with characters ("It's Teddy's lunchtime"), he develops social and verbal skills. He'll work out emotional issues as he replays scenarios that involve feeling sad, happy, frightened, or safe. Imagining himself as a daddy, a doctor, or a teacher makes him feel powerful and gives him the experience of being in charge.

Provide props. Almost anything can be a prop for imaginative play, and with toddlers, the simpler the better. A cardboard box becomes a car, ship, or train to ride in, and a towel becomes a superhero's cape. Since most of the action takes place inside your child's head, detailed costumes — such as those specific to particular cartoon characters, for instance — aren't really that helpful.

Providing a special box or trunk to hold pretend paraphernalia can make imaginative games even more of an adventure, especially if you occasionally restock it when your toddler's not looking ("Let's see what's in the trunk today!").

Limit TV time. When it comes to your toddler's TV viewing, moderation is key. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV at all for kids under 2, but many parents end up allowing their toddlers a small amount of TV time. When your child does watch TV, try to keep it to short stretches of no more than ten to 15 minutes at a time. Avoid the temptation to use the tube as an electronic babysitter, and instead sit and watch along with your child, posing questions, expanding on ideas presented in the show or movie, and finding out what he responds to most.

How to live with your toddler's imagination Set limits.
Creating and enforcing rules — no hitting with the "sword," for instance — is crucial to your child's ultimate happiness as well as yours. But if and when you can, let your toddler live for a bit with the reminders of his flights of fancy. The fact that the dining room table isn't available for dinner because it's currently serving as an igloo gives you the perfect excuse to have a pretend picnic on the living room floor.

Accept his imaginary friend. Experts believe that having an imaginary friend signals a creative and social child who's found a way to help manage his own fears or concerns. Some studies suggest that as many as half of kids have an imaginary pal at some point.

However, if your child starts blaming the friend for something he did, it's time for a reality check. You don't need to accuse him of lying, but do address the behavior. Have your child, along with the imaginary pal, rectify the situation (clean up the mess, apologize, whatever) and make it clear that the act was unacceptable.

Enjoy the offbeat. When your child insists on wearing his spaceman outfit to daycare for the third day in a row, you may find yourself in a quandary. Adults are socialized to draw strict lines between "public" and "private" behavior — your funky gray sweatpants and rabbit slippers are fine around the house, but not at a restaurant — but children don't think this way. When you find yourself forcing a confrontation ("Take off your Halloween costume now"), remember that your toddler doesn't have these boundaries yet, and in the grand scheme, a kooky outfit isn't much to worry about.

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