Stimulation for 8 YO

[ittybittycoy]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stimulate an 8 year old's imagination. I have tried many different avenues to encourage creativity/imaginative play, but nothing seems to work. If it were up to her, she would spend all day watching TV or playing video games.

The only thing that she will absolutely go for other than electronics, is swimming. I do use this quite frequently, as a way to get her out of the house, but I also want her to be able to play and do other things without adult prompting.

I thought by this age, she would initiate play more, but it seems like we are still a long way off from that. Also, I want to add, she has had an evaluation done (for gifted), and the psychologist said she has an extremely high IQ, but her maturity is lower than average; maybe this is the cause, and it will take longer for this to develop? Just a thought, any feedback would be great. TIA!

 

[alicecooper]

Does she like books? My DD reads a lot of books, I think they're good for capturing the imagination.
Or writing stories? Maybe you could sit down together and come up with a collaborative-effort story?

 

[seoj]

My SD always had to have something to do- she did not fair well on her own, lol. She would easily "get bored"-- but was ubber social, so we made her lots of play dates with friends- or had sleep overs etc... encouraged her to read/write- as she loved those too. She would read tons of books-- and we'd often take her to the library or book stores to help pick out new books.

Just depends on the kid- some like the more interal stuff, others more social, while others are creative with painting or drawing or writing stories... swimming is great, but yea, can't be done all day every day. My friends son is the same- he loves swimming, but no sports and would gladly be watching TV or playing video games all day- but he also loves legos, so he's creating new things that way all the time. Maybe there is something she'd enjoy creating- have you tried a craft store yet? Maybe if she helps pick it out?

Sorry no great ideas...

 

[ittybittycoy]

Thank you ladies for all your suggestions. I have tried the books, and yes, she loves them, but she will only read them on her terms. If I suggest reading, she says it is boring, even though she loves it.

I have also tried crafts and such, and she absolutely loves it. But, yet again, I have to initiate everything, she will not do this on her own. I know this may sound like I prefer for her to play alone, but that is not the case. I do enjoy playing and interacting with her, but, the bottom line is I cannot provide her with constant attention 24/7 and that is what she wants. If she does not get my full 100% attention, that is when she chooses to watch TV or play with some other kind of electronic.

I think the play dates may work out since she really has no sibling that she can interact with, as our 6 year old has developmental disorders and the other is only 6 months. She is also starting soccer in August, so maybe that will help her get the social interaction she desires.

 

[Zothan Mom]

I've seen how TV and games can become addictive for children. I had to put a limit on my children's TV time too. Triggering my daughter's imagination and getting her to play got a lot easier when I played Barbie with her... but not just playing with the dolls, that's too boring. What we did was use stuff in and around the house to build our own dollhouses... like using hair curlers to build a fence, or books as walls, etc etc.... Now every time she is not allowed to watch TV, she starts building a dollhouse

For my son, It's a little harder... I have to literally play "ben10" with him by pretending to turn into an alien (it helps knowing the aliens' names). He gets a huge kick out of it and thinks I'm the world's coolest mom, but I have to admit, it can be really tiring

 

[River54]

When my dd was that age, she very much liked kinex & mechanno. Though she liked doing all the things in the instruction booklet - so we got her more designs eventually, since she stopped when she ran out of designs. When she got a bit older, she branched out into designs of her own, but that was later.
She also liked comics to read. Which I figured was better than tv etc. She had alot of DS games, and we had a tv, but I limited the tv and ds in favour of playing with her toys.
Sometimes she'd balk at me and tell me she was bored etc. But, I was firm about it, and eventually she found stuff/toys in her room to play with that she hadn't touched in a while etc.

Another thing I found was puzzles were a good distraction. I could start it with her, and then leave her with it, and periodically check up on her to see the progression.

As for the IQ/social part - my dd found it was easier to interact with either a couple years older or younger than her. And I found that sending her to camp for a week in the summer was a great way for her to interact with people that did not know her and her abilities scholastically. She actually prompted me to send her to camp alone (when she was 8). I was insanely nervous about, but she loved it and it worked out well for her.

Oh yeah - and her listening to music in her bedroom while playing helped her alot to try and figure out stuff to do.

 

[messica]

I'd cut out all electronices and have her earn that time back via chores 20 minutes a time up to an hour a day. Studies have shown any more than that and you start to mess with brain chemistry and the ability to focus.

I love hitting eBay for inexpensive build it and experiment kits. Bird houses, jewelry boxes, bookshelves, even.trunks are awesome fun to build, refurbish and decorate. Smithsonian has some awesome kits that you can "dig" for gold, dinosaur bones, grow gems etc. Think ant farms, sea monkeys, sewing kits, beads (the Dollar Store is great for craft items and again you can hit Craigslist and eBay for a small simple sewing machine). Get her a guitar or recorder and lesson books. Teach her to make simple cookies, pancakes and salads from scratch (lots don't need the oven or stove at all). Give her a chunk.of family photos and teachher to scrapbook. Give her a list of outdoor items and send her on a scavenger hunt (this works well for seasonal items as well....plastic eggs and artificial flowers in spring, shells in summer, acorns in fall and Christmas ornaments in winter)

I run an almost 100% technology free daycare, I could go on and on for days lol.

There really is so much better out there for kids to do than stare at a screen!

 

[ittybittycoy]

Wow, thank you for your responses ladies, I really appreciate it!

As of right now, we are at TV in the morning and before bed. There have been days where there has been a little more, but for the most part we are doing good. She is still stating she is bored while in her room, but is requiring less prompting. Fingers crossed, this continues!