My parents both worked hard and when I was eleven we moved to this beautiful bungalow with five acres of land. My dad and sister were both horse crazy, me not so much. I really don't like horses they terrify me. Big ugly beasts with big ugly teeth and they kick, which really really hurts.
Our home was beautiful though, views across the fields to Beeston and Peckforten Castles just on the edge of Wales. Many hours were spent there with Ben and Bex, and I know without a doubt that they'll only have good memories of the time spent there with their Grandma and Grandad. With the distance of time my memories are only good ones of glorious summers playing in the paddock and stream, and Christmas wrapped up for long walks in Delamere Forest.
Family has always been important to me and I've definitely passed this onto Ben and Bex. I spent weekends with my grandparents, cooking with my Nana and going for long walks in the country with my Grandad, stopping off along the way to feed crusts to the local ponies and learn about the flowers and trees along the way. Grandad would pack us sandwiches and have mint humbugs in his pocket. It was such an adventure. I still, to this day, believe my Nana made the best shepherds pie and Grandad's marmite on toast was just incredible. Rose tinted glasses for idyllic memories.
Even though I lived in London with my guys we would still drive up to see my parents every 4-5 weeks. To be honest I think Ben would have packed his bags and hitchhiked if I hadn't taken him to see them on a regular basis. He would spend ours with his grandad in the fields. On more than one occasion getting his wellies stuck in the mud at the bottom of the field. Dad had to lift Ben out of his wellies and then pull the wellie out of the mud. Rebekah running back to the house giggling to tell me what had happened. We won't mention the fact that they'd climbed through the fence into the neighbouring farmers field to see the cows. Having worked their way along Grandad's stream they needed to continue following it in the farmers land. When you're on an adventure there are no boundaries.
Ben's dad and grandad built him a tree house next to the stable block and Ben spent hours up there pretending to be a pirate. He had a red Cape and an eye patch. A formidable pirate who would Arrgggghhhhh whenever he saw a land lubber; myself and Bex fell into that category.
The great thing about being able to take the guys from the suburbs of London to the Cheshire countryside was that it opened their eyes to more than one lifestyle. It also opened up their imaginations and gave them larger scope to explore and play in a very different environment. Letting our children use their imaginations is such a huge part of their growing and learning. We cannot and should not put them into neatly lined up boxes.
Imagination in children encourages their creativity, something that seems to get lost as we grow and mature which is a shame as it helps with both intellectual and emotional growth. Which in turn lead to social success. Allowing your child to be imaginative, to have pretend play builds their self confidence and self awareness. All of these are positive steps in the formation of the adult your child will become. Never stop your child from pretending or making things up. If it's not malicious and they are healthy and happy there is nothing wrong with their imaginary friend who is part of their daily life. The dressing up box in the corner will take them to amazing places and teach them about the world. The carpentry set and pots and pans will introduce them to a taste of reality, they love copying mum and dad, their teachers and friends. Cardboard boxes can become the best forts ever and using the washing basket to slide down the stairs is just a warmer version of sledging. Covering your coffee table with blankets and filling it with cushions becomes the best hide out and child could possibly want. To be honest there are times when I would love to build a blanket fort and stay there colouring for the day.
So join in these wonderous games with your children, encourage their imagination to flourish. I know you'll find things out about them that you would never expect, because when they are in the realm of let's pretend, they aren't themselves, so anything wonderful can happen. When you read them a story, let your imagination take over and become each and every character, acting out the scenes to give an actual representation of the written word. They will love you for it. If you need to be a lion that the prince will capture be that lion.
The housework will wait. It's ok for dinner to be late. You're teaching your children about the simple pleasures in life and allowing them to grow into the individual people that they deserve to be.