When adults say that fairy-tales and fantasy is for children, one doesn't get the idea that that means something positive. Rather, it sounds negative, as if the ability to use the imagination is a quality undesirable. Lewis says, though, that everyone uses the imagination to some degree. Why then are the imagination and fascination with fantasy attributes we want to outgrow? I don't know. But we do it anyway - we want to be a grown up. But really, what's the fun in that? Being a grown up means all sorts of undesirable things, like taxes, jobs, bills, etc.
Lewis says that the 'childish' taste for fantasy is not childish at all, but universal. Or, maybe not universal - there are children and adults alike who do not particularly enjoy fantasy. Nevertheless, what makes it childish is its retirement from adult taste. Tolkien illustrated this in using furniture that has been retired and relocated to the nursery. Lewis referenced it.
Lewis believes that, despite fantasy stories being put off by adults, they still engage in fantasy. There are three psychological definitions of fantasy, and they have more to do with what happens inside the mind - a place no one sees and where most everyone participates in fantasy, whether they are delusional or a day-dreamer - than traditional stories told orally or on paper.
Lewis' point: fantasy is not naturally childish. Or if it is, it is because children have the best attributes, such as imagination and openness. What makes fantasy childish is the loss of these attributes in adulthood.
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