parenting

Ask open ended questions. “What do you think they’ll do next?”

It never hurts to fall back to the old improv trope of “yes anding” where anything your child does with the toys, you further by adding to it or reinforcing what they’re already doing.

If you have any memories of playing as a child, you can rely on that to help inform your current opportunity to play. When I was young, Hot Wheels tracks were multi-purpose. It’s a sword. Made into a circle, it’s a magic portal. Often as adults we don’t engage with our imagination in the same ways that we did so effortlessly when we were young. If you feel silly, you’re doing it right.

When my kids were around this age, I loved to give the toys unique voices. British accents. Low deep voices. Slow voices. Fast voices. Robot voices.

At 4, their building capabilities aren’t the greatest, but you can help in that arena by creating landscapes of blocks for their toys to navigate. Towers, bridges, streets, hills, pyramids, mountains.

If a toy/character can fly… guess who has the strength to pick up a four year old holding a “flying” toy to add the simulated sensation of flight to their imaginative play…

Let me reinforce that you don’t have to be good at this. You’re wanting to be there. You’ve reached out for help and you clearly want to give your child the best. That means you’re doing better than most. You are a great parent. Your talents and abilities will influence and provide for your kiddo’s wellbeing in a myriad of ways over their lifetime. You’ve got this.