Should We Encourage Our Children to Daydream?

Sarah Hamaker

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
Published May 04, 2023

I was a daydreaming child (and, I freely admit, I’m still a daydreamer as an adult). While daydreaming, I built castles and fought dragons, won horse races (as both horse and jockey) and gold medals, became a princess and a heroine, and had grand journeys and escapades. Daydreaming fueled an active imagination, one that has been of enormous help in my profession as a writer.

But today, daydreaming has lost its luster. In our increasingly impatient society, we don’t have the time or patience for kids who inhabit their own little world, often staring off into space instead of putting on their shoes. We also don’t see the “need” for daydreaming, attributing a lackluster life to those who dare to dream while awake. 

Many of us have a similar view of daydreaming, that it’s not something we should cultivate even in childhood. What we fail to realize is that daydreaming has real benefits to our children (and even for adults!). Here are eight reasons to encourage your child’s daydreaming. 

Photo Credit: ©Pexels/Katie E

sarah hamaker author bio picSarah Hamaker is a national speaker and award-winning author who loves writing romantic suspense books “where the hero and heroine fall in love while running for their lives.” She’s also a wife, mother of two teenagers and two college students, a therapeutic foster mom, and podcaster (The Romantic Side of Suspense podcast). She coaches writers, speakers and parents with an encouraging and commonsense approach. Visit her online at sarahhamakerfiction.com.

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