Between classic Disney characters, favorite fairy tales, and consumerism norms around “kid spaces,” it’s easy to enter new parenthood and assume that your baby would connect most to:

And while these features may generate feelings of joy and nostalgia for parts of your childhood, it’s important to note the difference between infancy and childhood. The ability to imagine and connect to the more abstract side of things is actually a high-level cognitive skill that takes years to develop.

Typically, the earliest children can connect to fantasy, for example, would be around age 4-5. There are earlier stages of pretend play that will surface in toddlerhood, but it will be rooted in reality – like pretending that a block is a phone or role-playing a health checkup after their experience at the doctor’s office.

For now, what your baby craves most is simple, concrete facts! Infancy and early childhood is prime time for connecting to the real world. This is because our brains need to understand what is real first before we can think, “What else is possible?” When you give your baby real experiences, it helps to feed their ability to imagine later. Around age 5+, the imagination takes off!

Until then, you may want to source toys, books, artwork, and experiences that are concrete and simple. The ordinary is extraordinary to them.