Buy toys that enhance creativity, such as building blocks, puppets, and dolls. Create a dress-up box filled with old hats, jewelry, and clothing for your child. Put together some imaginative plat list for your child. If your child builds a cardboard fortress in the family room, for example, let it stand for as long as possible. Read to your child.
Books can provide the people, places, and things that inspire imagination.
Don't attempt to control imaginative play. Parents often make demands on their child, telling them to drink their milk, wash their hands, get dressed, etc. When kids engage in imaginative play, it's their turn to be in charge. Parents should try to recognize the value that pretend play offers to children.