One of the greatest gifts a child has is to dream big without boundaries. Their imagination runs wild with everything and anything being possible.  As we grow into adults our dreams get shattered by rationality, negative thinking, what we think is reality, and the de-motivating advice from others.

Every great invention and idea that has come to fruition also had someone behind it reminding the inventor that they may be wasting their time or trying to give them a sense of what they think reality is.  I am going to call them Dream Stoppers.  All of us at one point has been a dream stopper to someone else.

My three-year-old son is currently at a stage where he is engaging in a lot of pretend play and making up words that don’t exist.  There are times when he comes up with some out of the world ideas.  My first reaction is to enjoy the cuteness and then correct him by explaining what it would be like in the real world. However, I realized I was starting to become a Dream Stopper without even realizing it.  I want him to feel encouraged to come up with some crazy ideas (as long as it is safe and does no harm to himself or others).  I really hope those words don’t backfire on me one day :-/

Humans are natural creators and inventors when they are born.  I think if we encouraged each other more (at any age) instead of being so quick to judge, we as a world would have a lot more to gain.

Check out some kid inventions that made it big and 40 Kids Who Have Changed the World. 

One of my favorite shows is Shark Tank.  Check out some adults who are still thinking big. 

As for an interesting children’s book, I recommend “If I Built a School”, by Chris Van Dusen.

It’s about a boy, Jack who describes what his perfect school structure and layout would look like if he had built it.  Jack takes us through his vision of a modern day, fun school that I too wish existed.  His dream could one become a reality.  

Another great book by Chris Van Dusen: The Circus Ship