Recently, my nephew was doing some exercises in a workbook and he asked if he could read a selection to me. It’s not often a 7 year old uses words like selection, so I said of course and I sat and listened as he recounted a story about the Pilgrims coming across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower to land at Plymouth Rock. At the end of the of the piece, there were several questions, the first question asked:
Is This Story Real or Make Believe?
The difference between the two of them is very distinct for the majority of adults, but for kids – the line is not so clearly defined. A part of their studies requires understanding the difference between reality and fantasy and what better time to begin focusing on this difference as we kick off the school year and as we get ready for Halloween.
So how do we teach them the difference between reality and fantasy? Well, you can start with answering their questions. Kids are always chock full of them whether they are talking about their cartoons, their movies or their books. You need to let them know the difference as simple as indicating that animated features are in and of themselves fantasy creations even if the story they are based on is real.
Keeping the Lines of Dialogue Open
My daughter is always quick to ask about certain things – such as are the Dementors in Harry Potter real? I told her they weren’t. She asked me if I was sure and I told her that they were based on the idea that we are scared of the dark when we’re little because we’re not sure what’s there. If we turn on the light, the dark’s not so scary, is it? She agreed and she never worried about it again.
When my nephew asked me if the story of the Pilgrims was real, I told him that it was. After all, it is a true story. He thought it was pretty crazy that it would take them that long to come across an ocean to find a rock – but we talked about it and he got it. My daughter loves to read stories about Japan and we’ll pull out our encyclopedia and travel books and read the details about lifestyle, culture and places we can see.
She also loves stories about princesses, ponies, little charming girls with talking backpacks and she would love, love to have mice and birds sew a dress for her – but she understands that they aren’t real. But she likes to pretend and she likes to use her imagination – so the line between these two different things is very well traveled.
Talk to your kids about reality and fantasy – encourage their imagination, but make sure they understand the difference – how do you talk to your kids about reality and fantasy?
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