According to child psychologists like Piaget, Erikson, and Vgyotsky, children’s mental development takes place in stages, as their minds are able to process and comprehend increasingly complex concepts. Imagination, as it has been discovered, plays a part in that development.

Critics of the imaginative world of children do not understand that adults use imagination on a daily basis, as well. In fact, it serves several important functions. Imagination helps us to picture and thus comprehend the things we learn about history and science, because we process these things using our imagination, or mental imagery.

We also use imagination to picture the future, to set goals and motivate ourselves, to visualize success, and to imagine how a potential scenario could play out. Imagination helps us to consider potential consequences for our choices, which is actually a function of the highest level of thinking in our brains.

The prefrontal lobe, or frontal cortex, is the location of this highest level of thinking. It is what makes us human beings and lifts us above the animals. The ability to imagine allows us to visualize ourselves in another person’s shoes, giving us one of the greatest of human values- empathy.

Very small children have poorly developed frontal cortexes and thus cannot understand, for example, the concept of sharing. This is because they have difficulty empathizing. They can mirror empathic behaviors like comforting others who are upset, but they are incapable of seeing the other person’s perspective. Imaginative play helps to develop these important functions of the human mind and of the human experience.

Did you know that imagination is not just for children? Were you aware that you use your imagination many times per day? Imagination is more than just fantasy play.

Imagination is what we grownups use to brainstorm solutions, visualize scenarios, consider possible outcomes, picture what someone is telling us, and comprehend events. When Joe tells his coworker Samantha about an interesting date he had the night before, Samantha automatically uses her imagination to picture the entertaining events Joe describes.

Is it any wonder, therefore, that children need to develop their imaginations? They do this through a variety of learning activities. Reading is one of the best ways to accomplish this.

Today’s entertainment for children is far different from what it used to be, in generations passed. The radio has been replaced with high-definition TV. The book has been replaced with electronic devices in various forms. These high-tech items don’t leave much room for a child’s imagination, if any.

Experts recommend reading to your child at least 20 minutes every day. This not only helps develop a love of reading and of learning, in your child, but encourages the use and expansion of the imagination. Every page encourages the child to visualize the book coming to life. Consider reading to your child every day as an important part of your parenting schedule.