Good Imagination Versus Bad Imagination
So with Halloween approaching my four year old asks “Daddy, are vampires real?” I hate these types of questions. My initial reaction is to provide the simple and direct “No” but I also find that the questioning after an absolute answer goes sideways quickly. Instead, I try and get some additional information before I launch into a historical account of Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia; the romanticism of the early 19th century Gothic fiction that was based on the Eastern European folk tales of wampir; and the current day bastardization of the original Gothic material.
My Preschooler and Her Imagination
I wrote a few weeks ago about my three year old’s entourage. My original thought was to pay particular attention to when any of the three members of the group appeared and to see if what I had discovered made sense. Of course, the old adage a watched pot never boils definitely was applicable. It was nearly two weeks before any of them appeared. Then, one morning, she came down after waking up and announced that Ariel, Rapunzel, and Sally were all there. Great, now was an opportunity to learn more about the three imaginary friends. I asked my daughter what they looked like. Her response, “they look like nothing”. I asked for further clarification, which I got with “like not there”. Ok, I guess we were all “seeing” the same people then. I asked what they wanted to do and was told “nothing, they’re just here”. It was time for breakfast and our daily routine began.