I believe many would agree with me that What if? is one of the most dangerous questions a person can ask themselves. That is, when we are talking about past real-life scenarios. If you get stuck in a loop of constantly questioning what you should have done, you will never be able to move forward.

That being said, fantasizing is not about living the imaginable and dreaming about the unimaginable. It is about diminishing human boundaries and playing with the possibilities of our own minds. Generally, adults are capable of doing so but have difficulties staying detached from reality for a longer time. Placing ourselves in someone else’s shoes who is non-existent or believing superpowers are real, hence, believing life to be fictional, is more of a child’s thing to do. In this case, for kids, asking What if? does not sound so scary. On the contrary, children use fantasy to colour everyday life when all they have to do is play. Usually, there are no serious consequences to children’s choices. Unlike for adults, kids have much less to consider when making a decision. They do not have to keep their heads cool and straight all the time, yet living life without any serious worries or regrets. That is the biggest difference between the realization of adult and child fantasizing.

Usually, these imaginary roleplaying games derive from a fictional tale they have heard or seen before, or something they got from the real world. At least, that is what I used to do. My cousin and I were major Harry Potter fans. In the summer, we used to pretend that we lived in the wizarding world and that we were characters from the world famous story. Near my family’s cottage house, there is a field with big rocks all over it that looked like the battle field where the wizarding war of the seventh book took place. He was Draco Malfoy and I was Ginny Weasley. We grabbed our wands (chopsticks) and capes (tablecloths my mom let us use) and spent entire days shouting gibberish spells at each other in the middle of a meadow. No one had to ask or answer the question Why? we only had to ask ourselves What if…?

Obviously, that was a long time ago. Even though I would love to do it again, I know it would not be the same. I wouldn’t know how to disassociate myself from real life to that level anymore. I find that ability of childhood amusing. (I know there are exceptions in adulthood, but let’s not focus on those today). I recently spoke with my nephew Ezra (E), who is three years old, to learn more about his interests and motivations for acting out imagined situations.

(I also had some help from Ezra’s mom (M), my sister, in phrasing the questions in a way that my nephew could understand.) Excuse the interview script’s sloppiness; after all, the interviewee was only three years old.)