While young children are under increasing pressure to develop literacy and mathematical skills from an early age, some experts believe more focus should be placed on developing their imagination and creative thinking.
Dr. Susan Irvine, an associate professor in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at Queensland University of Technology, is a chief proponent of this viewpoint.
“Imagination supports learning and the acquisition of knowledge,” she told First Five Years. “Children draw on their imagination in play to revisit prior knowledge and experience (e.g. a day at the beach). This, in turn, expands their knowledge and understanding of these experiences.”
“Children use their imagination to explore new knowledge and ideas,” she continued. “For example, revisiting the day at the beach could lead to imagining life underwater. When play taps into the imagination of other children and adults, the possibilities for exploration and learning are endless.”
Imaginative exploration can take many forms, with young minds taking children down some unusual and occasionally hilarious pathways. One such example recently came to the fore on Twitter, where parent, writer and comedian Ely Kreimendahl shared an especially unique exchange with her 4-year-old daughter, Goldie.
Kreimendahl told Newsweek, Goldie is “thoughtful, introspective, and truly very funny” and has a habit of saying “hilarious things without trying to be funny.” This particular occasion was no different with Goldie approaching her mom and telling her: “I love you so much that if someone chopped your head off I’d carry it around forever in a bag.”
Coming from an adult, this kind of affirmation might have sent a shiver down the spine, but it’s an entirely different prospect when a toddler is involved, with the statement instead representing a wonderfully weird show of affection.
Kreimendahl, for her part, wasn’t even all that surprised, explaining that Goldie is “definitely prone to making statements like this,” adding: “I don’t even consider this one especially unusual.” Even so, it was still a statement she felt was worth sharing with the world on social media and the internet evidently agreed.
Kreimendahl’s tweet sharing her young daughter’s musings has been retweeted over 30,000 times, earning over 400,000 likes in the process.
The reaction has been one of high amusement—much like Kreimendahl herself when it first happened. “I laughed so hard,” she told Newsweek. “But then tried to dial it back a little bit, because on her end I think it really was an expression of love and I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t taking her seriously, or that there was anything wrong with what she said.”
Eager to encourage her daughter’s creative outlook on life, she said she replied: “That’s so sweet, honey, I would do the same for your head.” She said her daughter let out a “big grin,” with the pair sharing a cuddle soon after.
“It’s a small thing, but it makes me feel good to respond in that way, with an implication that however she chooses to express herself is great and acceptable,” Kreimendahl said. “She’s only four and I already love her mind and its weird, wonderful uniqueness so much.”
Kreimendahl acknowledged that, as with anything on social media, there are always the naysayers who will claim things like this “didn’t happen,” but she’s not fussed. “It just makes me think those folks have never spent much time with children,” she said.
“The things they say are strange and incredible. they don’t have that superego filter yet that stops them from speaking their truth in whatever moment, and I think that’s beautiful and should be celebrated!”
