Albert Einstein once said, “imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” As a mother, I know exactly what he meant. When my kids are given the opportunity to explore their imagination, they can understand almost any concept from the rules of living in our house all the way to figuring out how to make sense of their big feelings like frustration, sadness, and even the difficult art of patience. When kids don’t have all the answers the way an adult does, it’s games and stories that power their brains toward understanding the world around them.
What better way to build a child’s confidence and promote a love of learning than through creative play and imagination building? With Goldfish crackers, kids can turn a simple snack time break into an epic adventure by doing what kids do best: playing. And sure, as a mom I don’t often encourage my kids to play with their food but when it can mean turning on their minds to a world of storytelling there is no telling what will happen next. For example, I once learned that my oldest child was afraid of the floor under his bed because he thought a goblin would eat his toes if they dangled over the edge of his bed at night. It was through storytelling and role-playing that he finally shared this and we were able to help him work through his fear.
Goldfish has commissioned a nation-wide study, called the Goldfish Imagination Index, investigating what Canadian parents and their kids believe about imagination. The study uncovered some interesting finds. Like, that just like me, *99% of Canadian parents feel it’s important for their kids to have a strong imagination, but 68% feel their kids could use their imagination more. Furthermore, the study showed that *more than half of Canadian parents believe their children use their imaginations less than they did when they were young.
When I watch my kids expressing their creativity through role-playing and dress up games, it never fails to astonish me at how they can keep their games going for hours. And at ages 4, 7, and 10-years-old it isn’t always easy to find activities that they can enjoy together since their interests range from art making and story books to video games and sports. Luckily for me, their powerful imaginations can turn a simple game of Hide and Seek into an endless adventure with enough room for each of my kids to participate in a meaningful way. And during these challenging times, when we have limited chances to see friends and family, it has been my children’s wild imaginations that have kept us all laughing, learning, and bonding.
Now more than ever, kids need to feel empowered to use their imaginations. *90% of Canadian parents are making efforts to increase their kids’ imagination. Half say that they’re having difficulties doing so and 62% say they could use help when it comes to encouraging their kids’ imaginations.
That’s why I am absolutely thrilled that Goldfish is launching an incredible contest called #FeedImagination. The amazing little Goldfish cracker that has sparked the imaginations of millions of kids during snack time is giving kids a chance to share their big ideas by drawing a picture or creating a story and sharing it with the Goldfish team. Eight lucky winners will get to see their artworks turned into murals or a digital story book. Talk about amazing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY2gphbzTjA&feature=youtu.be
The #FeedImagination initiative is an awesome opportunity for parents to engage with their kids and to maybe even challenge them to dream big and explore their ideas and feelings through colorful drawings. Bonus? If you post your kid’s masterpiece to Instagram using the hashtag #FeedImagination and #contest then you can enter your child into the Goldfish Crackers #FeedImagination contest. If you don’t use Instagram, no worries, you can also go directly to the Goldfish website and enter there.
Remember, moms and dads, the more we encourage our kids to be creative and dream, the closer it brings them to bringing those dreams to life. It’s not just important to feed our kids the right foods to build their bodies but we have to feed their imaginations too. After all, the more you feed imaginations the bigger they grow.
*These are the findings of a study conducted by Goldfish® Canada from August 24, 2020 to August 31, 2020 with a representative sample of n=1,507 online Canadian parents (age 18+ yrs.) of children aged 4 to 12 who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French.
