Every child is born with large, curious eyes that look at the world with a rich imagination.

Young children are very curious and are at an excellent stage of learning to observe and feel the things around them.

As adults, it is our job to stimulate and germinate the imagination of children. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's take a look at how Millie's vivid imagination sprouted in the picture book Millie's Hat Change.

 

Millie, the protagonist, found interest in a hat with colored feathers that she saw in a street store. She showed the shop clerk her empty wallet and asked if there was a cheaper hat.

The shop clerk entertained Millie warmly and politely. He called Millie "lady" and lowered his body to talk with Millie.

When Millie showed him her empty wallet, he did not wear a face of anger, doubt or any other negative emotion.

The clerk took out a box and told Millie, "This is an amazing hat. It can change into any size, shape, or color that you want. The only thing you have to do is using your imagination.”

 

 

There was an invisible ‘hat’ that needed to be imagined in the box. The clerk carefully put the hat on Millie's head, and Millie traded it for the same invisible, imaginable ‘money’.

Millie was very happy, and on her way home she spread the wings of her imagination to make beautiful, decorative hats. When she reached home, she asked her parents: "Have you seen my hat?" Her Mom and Dad were very confused, because they didn’t see any hat!

But the mother in the story was very witty, her mind acted quickly—she said that she could see the most beautiful hat on Millie’s head. She cleverly protected Millie’s imagination.

    

 

Here, what we want to emphasize is not the upbringing of the shop clerk. Parents should pay more attention to the attitude of the shop clerk towards children. His behavior reflects his respect for children as an adult.

The whole process of the purchase is ceremonial, and the clerk, knowing that Millie had no money, put the invisible hat in a delicate box, put it on Millie's head and respectfully took Millie's invisible money. 

 

                

 

 

In this way, the shop clerk captured Millie's potentially great imagination as if they were playing pretend. It can be said that the shop clerk was the initiator and guide of Millie's imagination.

Imagine if the clerk yelled loudly and sent Millie out of the store. If that had happened, Millie's peacock hat, cake hat, fountain hat and so on, would no longer exist.

"Invisible" does not mean "nonexistent". All adults should learn from the shop clerk—to respect their children's "ridiculous thoughts", and to guide them so that their imagination can sprout smoothly.

At the same time, we can see the importance of adults' recognizing children’s imaginations. Growing children are relatively sensitive to evaluation and need the clever care of their parents.