You have likely already experienced this…the toy you’ve purchased is laying on the floor while your child uses the box as a drum (or however else they have been inspired).
Why is it that cardboard boxes are so intriguing to children? Well that’s simple…it’s because they can be whatever we want them to be! Developing a healthy imagination and practicing creativity provide hours of engagement during childhood which in turns become tools we utilize well into our adulthood.
There are several very good books available now (Playful Intelligence by Anthony DeBenedet, M.D. and The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Von Der Kolk, M.D.) that have described how important imagination and creativity are in developing us into resilient people. Resilient people can imagine a different outcome of a traumatic situation. Resilient people can create an alternate solution when faced with a difficult challenge.
These skills are developed throughout our childhood when we are provided the time, space and materials needed to imagine an alternate reality and create something new from something that might otherwise be discarded in our recycle bin.
What are your favorite things to do with a cardboard box?