TOW #7: Teach Kids to Daydream

            There have been multiple times in a classroom setting where teachers would yell at students, "Snap out of it!" to regain their attention, or randomly call on a student, off guard, to send the message that they need to start paying attention. With this reaction from teachers, most would think daydreaming is a horrible activity for the mind to engage in. Actually, it is the opposite.
           Parents want their children to get the most beneficial amount of hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation has been linked to many things such as stunt physical growth, encourage illegal substance use, increase moodiness and irritability, show symptoms of ADD, dramatically increase the chance of car accidents among teens, and a decrease in academic skill. Though getting a good amount of sleep each night is important, daydreaming is equally important as a mental downtime.
          What teachers and parents do not know, is that daydreaming is an extremely productive activity for the mind. In this article the author, Jessica Lahey, talks about all the benefits in the context of a world that is obsessed with health. She specifically targets parents and advises them to teach their children how to daydream and gain all the benefits it poses. Using outside sources such as cognitive psychologists, Lahey appeals to ethos by using specific evidence from these scientists. She recalls psychologist Jerome L. Singer's book, Daydreaming: An Introduction to the Experimental Study of Inner Experience. In his book, he writes that daydreaming is our default mental state. The brain has two networks: working memory and daydreaming. Once one is on, the other is shut off. So if the brain is in working memory, it cannot daydream. That is why Lahey advises the parents to take their children out on a walk with no technology, no anything, and just look up to the sky and daydream.
          The purpose of writing this article is to inform and advise the parents and teachers of the world that daydreaming is very beneficial. Lahey wants adults to think twice before snapping their kid out of deep thought. She also advocates for parents to try daydreaming, and to open their minds of creativity after a stress-filled day. Daydreaming may not seem productive, but it is equally important as getting those solid hours of sleep.