Parent View:
If your Kidz are fanatical about football like our George – they will love this new Goal set. Play a normal game with the open goal or practice scoring in a particular section of the goal with the flip side game – any fan will have fun.
More importantly its inflatable so easy to store and completely transportable for games in the park or the beach. One top tip – don’t leave it out over night. Fox’s also love playing with inflatable ball games. Unfortunately they come with claws and teeth.
Need to feel more creative? Talk to a four year old
Over two thirds of adults feel they lack the confidence to be creative when playing with their children
• 65% of Brits feel they are losing their imagination as they become older
• 60% of four year olds love to create different scenarios with toys
• 56% invent games that don’t have ‘real world’ boundaries
• 55% pretend to be an entire range of characters
• 70% parents love watching children use their imagination to invent and create
• One in 10 believe they could boost this confidence by losing their inhibitions and playing with children more
• A quarter of fathers don’t feel confident enough to draw a picture with their children
• 30 per cent of mothers feel self-conscious when role playing in the games their children invent and ‘dressing up’ in fancy dress with their kids
Research from toy brand Chad Valley, exclusively available at Argos, reveals that Brits feel they are losing their imagination as they become older (65 per cent), with a third citing ‘pressures of life’ as the main reason they lack a creative spark.
Four is the magic number, as this is the age when we truly discover the delights of imagination. Aged four, we love to create different scenarios with toys (60 per cent), invent games with toys that don’t have ‘real world’ boundaries (who says a cat and a teapot can’t get married?) (56 per cent) and pretend to be an entire range of characters (55 per cent).
Toys that fuel this imagination are much loved by children and parents throughout the UK, with four to seven year olds favouring drawing and art sets (63 per cent), getting muddy with footballs and bikes (56 per cent) and travelling to imaginary worlds with trains, cars and aeroplanes (45 per cent).
‘Play Expert’ Dr Richard Woolfson, commented: “With a strong sense of imagination but lack of knowledge about the boundaries of the world, it’s easy for a four year old to imagine a dinosaur can sail on a boat across the kitchen to reach the safety of his best friend, a toy train.”
Parents love watching children use their imagination to invent and create (70 per cent) but one in 10 believe they could boost this confidence by losing their inhibitions and playing with children more. It’s important to remember that imagination doesn’t just stop, as we get older, as the benefits are also evident in other aspects of life, as it’s proven that being imaginative is a key to solving difficult problems in the workplace.
Despite our love of children’s imaginations, a quarter of fathers don’t feel confident enough to draw a picture with their children, and 30 per cent of mothers feel self-conscious when role playing in the games their children invent and ‘dressing up’ in fancy dress with their kids.
Melanie Goodchild, Marketing Manager at Chad Valley, who commissioned the research, said: “It’s clear we feel less confident about our imagination as we become older, but if we take away the barriers we could be just as imaginative as a four year old. Children’s imaginations are stimulated by playing with creative toys such as those in the Chad Valley range, and by observing and playing alongside our children it can also have benefits within our adult’s lives.”
Children’s author and illustrator Alex T Smith is working with Chad Valley to help the UK discover their imagination, and has created a set of tips to help awaken the sense of playfulness we love.
Alex T Smith said: “Living an imaginative life doesn’t mean retreating to a fantasy world, it means having more fun in the real world. It’s no surprise that people feel they need help boosting their imagination and with our lives busier than ever, creativity and imagination can, understandably, take a back seat. As someone who spends every day getting into the mindframe of a child, I know how important it is to find your sense of playfulness. Even a simple act of childish mischievousness such as playing on a swing when no one’s watching, or giving an inanimate object a name can help you find creative inspiration in all walks of life.”
Alex T Smith’s tips for stimulating your imagination
1. Make a record of each day using different objects
2. Collaborate and bounce off children’s imaginations
3. Doodle on everyday items to create something more imaginative
4. Relax – don’t worry about the right answer when thinking creatively.
5. Break up normal routine by changing simple actions – play on the swings or walk through a puddle!
6. Take your imagination for a walk and think ‘What If….’
7. Forget logic – it’s boring!
8. Eavesdrop on people’s conversations and piece together their story
9. Draw the first thing that comes into your head
10. Become a detective and create stories with your surroundings
Chad Valley believes in kids having fun, and with a broad range of toys for all ages there no easier way for children to let their imagination run wild.
