Exactly. I had a similar idea myself when my sons were very young. I used to think the poverty of their vocabulary actually made creative neologisms more necessary.

The art critic Clive Bell talked about "The habit of recognising the label and overlooking the thing, of seeing intellectually instead of seeing emotionally," as one of the key differences between adults and children. He said it was one of the major reasons why most adults had lost touch with their creative sides.