Parents: Rachel's Story

Rachel is the mother of four children, ages 10, 7, 4, and 1.

“My 4-year-old is introverted and his development has been a little bit more delayed. It’s very rare for me to see him interact with other kids or take initiative to do something on his own.”

“Today, I’ve actually seen him play with kids that he doesn’t know, separate from his siblings, and take initiative to do a project all on his own without having to be guided. For me, to see him think outside the box, it was just an amazing experience. I’m so proud of him to take that initiative on his own without having to have his brother or sister tell him what to do or where to go. It was really nice to see him doing something on his own.”

“You know what? It makes me feel—I can’t even put it into words. I’ve been so worried about my 4-year-old and his development because he’s delayed, because he has developmental and emotional issues. So to watch him here and completely negate every concern I had about him—I can’t even put it into words. It was an amazing feeling to watch him just almost blossom in a matter of an hour.”

“they have to figure it out” 

At a playground, you know what you’re supposed to do.  You’re supposed to go down the slide. You’re supposed to swing on the swing. You’re supposed to climb across the monkey bars. This, the kids don’t know what they’re supposed to do with it, so they need to figure it out. 

“I think with so many toys and video games now, everything is guided. The kids don’t learn how to think outside the box.  With the Imagination Playground blocks, they have to think about it. They have to figure out what they want to do with it and make it entertaining for themselves. Everything my kids have at home, you know, it’s step by step. I know I’m supposed to do this. I’m supposed to do this. Here, they were allowed to figure out their own steps and run with it,  which they did.” 

“creating worlds”

“Kids love having their own little worlds. They love to be able to climb inside and just play. With small blocks at home, they can make a little house, but now what can you do with it? Here, they can play in it and they can really enjoy themselves.”

“They made forts. They made tents. They made a car.  They made an airplane. My 7-year-old made a see-saw. My 10-year-old and my 1-year-old are playing with a ball and a hoop she made out of foam noodles. I saw one little girl had folded up blankets and made a little bed with it. She literally made a life-size doll house.”