Let’s Tell Our Kids – Don’t Forget To Daydream!

I saw this sign at a local elementary school:

Spring Conferences
No School March 13 & 14
Read Read Read

You’d think I gave it a huge thumbs up wouldn’t you?

But I didn’t.

All I could think of was how much I wished the words were:

Daydream Daydream Daydream

Of course, that probably would have gone over like stale, burnt coffee.

But why is it that we encourage kids to spend hours immersed in the vivid stories and worlds that another person has daydreamed into existence, but we don’t encourage them to spend hours daydreaming their own imaginative stories to life?

Don’t get me wrong, I think curling up with a good book is one of life’s great pleasures and I hope every kid develops a love of reading.

But between school, sports, homework, and other activities, we keep our kids on the go, constantly occupied with stuff to do.

We live in a world where many people have never developed the ability to cope with being all alone and having nothing to do.

I think we owe it to our children to teach them that it’s okay to do nothing, and to give them the chance to learn how to do that.

Yes, maybe I have gone off my Tigger rocker.

But to me, an extra two days of no school is the perfect opportunity to tell kids to “Daydream, daydream, daydream!” and spend time doing nothing but getting to know their brains and exploring their imaginations.

We should encourage our children to daydream so they can learn that they are capable of creating their own fantastic and amazing stories within their heads.

That way, no matter what, even when they are all alone with nothing to do and not even a book to read, they will always have a fantastic story to keep them company.

Stuck in an elevator?

Full body cast?

Power out? Cell battery dead? Too dark to read?

Alone on a sunny beach and the dog ate your book?

No problem! Enjoy some quality time alone with yourself! Disappear into a world that belongs only to you!

Let’s tell our kids to read. Absolutely.

But let’s also tell them—don’t forget to daydream!