Children today are surrounded by more toys, more technology, and more activities than ever before. On paper, it looks like a dream childhood. But if I’m honest, I sometimes worry we’ve given them everything except the one thing they truly need: space for imagination.
When I was a little girl, a cardboard box was never just a box. It was a spaceship. A castle. A hiding place. A stick was a sword. A blanket was a den. We didn’t need much, because imagination did the heavy lifting.
Now, as a mum and a nanny to seven grandchildren, I see the difference. The world is busier. Screens are everywhere. Toys flash and beep but leave no room for children to fill in the gaps. And when I hear those two dreaded words, “I’m bored” I sometimes catch myself thinking, “Quick, what can I give them?”
But here’s the truth I’ve learned: boredom isn’t the problem. The real problem is we don’t let imagination solve it anymore.
We often think of imagination as a soft skill, something nice but not essential. But imagination is the foundation of creativity, problem-solving, and resilience. It’s how children practise turning “what if” into “what next.”
Think about it: every invention, every breakthrough, every piece of progress began with someone imagining that things could be different. Without imagination, we don’t just lose stories. We lose solutions.
And it starts in childhood.
The world tells us to fix boredom with things … toys, screens, instant entertainment. We pack children’s schedules so tightly that there’s no room for daydreaming. We mistake busy for enriched, when really all children want is the freedom to play without limits.
That’s why imagination is slipping through our fingers. Not because children are any less capable, but because the world gives them less space to practise it.
Weebert was born from scraps. Andy made him out of an old camera, opera glasses, and some copper wire. Nothing about him was perfect. But maybe that’s the point. Children don’t need perfection. They need proof that ordinary things can be extraordinary.
Whenever we take Weebert into schools, I see the spark immediately. Children look at him and their eyes light up. They don’t see scrap. They see stories. They start to imagine what they could build from what’s in front of them. And that’s when I know the spark is still there, it just needed permission.
The challenge is real: children’s imaginations are under pressure. But the hope is simple: imagination doesn’t disappear. It just waits for us to make room for it again.
That’s what Weebert’s World is all about. Not just creating a TV show, but creating stories, characters, and experiences that remind children (and grown-ups) that imagination is the one thing we can never afford to lose.
✨ Because when children believe they can build a world from scraps, they grow up believing they can build anything.
with love
Lotty x
