How to teach your child boundaries between fantasy and reality

ONE week, you find a wind-up spider in his schoolbag — the next, it’s a key ring with a miniature car attached.

When your five-year-old comes home with stuff that doesn’t belong to him, it’s most likely because the gap hasn’t yet closed between fantasy/desire and his conscience.

“Childhood is a journey into reality. It’s the gradual bursting of a fantasy bubble,” says child psychotherapist and author of Cop On Colman Noctor.