Creativity leads to family enrichment
CREATIVE ENRICHMENT FOR FAMILIES
I found it very enriching to read stories to my daughter every night until she turned twelve. To this day, we share this rich experience. Many years ago we were sitting on the sofa and I was drawing pictures for my daughter. She told me what she wanted the figure to look like and I drew that figure as best I could. It was just a fun game at the time, but this kind of creative play honed my daughter’s creative talents in the future and brought us closer together as two people who interacted creatively. But what I’ve learned is that giving your kids personal time is better than prioritizing every video game they could be playing, better than every late report you might have to hammer out , better than clustering around the TV, better than almost anything. And here’s why…
When you communicate with your children through reading, writing, drawing, etc., you are connecting with them. The personal daily parent/child dialogues: “…He took my ball, she called me a rat, do your homework, don’t mess up the kitchen, feed the dog, wipe your feet”…. ..just isn’t part of the interactive creative dialogue. Parent and child are on the same level. You all share moments of creativity – your children enjoy listening to you read to them, you enjoy drawing pictures with them and telling stories about the pictures, you all enjoy writing about the day you got your cute little kitten that ha has now become a huge and rather pompous family cat.
FORGET THE PARENT/CHILD DIALOGUE
You are removed from the petty mess of the parent scolding the kids and the kids reacting negatively. Reading, writing, and doing art projects together puts everyone on the same level. IF you keep the level of play the same with everyone involved and forget the parent/child roles you normally play, you’ll have a ball!
OK, but there’s still soccer, football, ballet, and when in the world can you find time for creative play? Make time for creative interaction. Yes, it is important that your son’s team wins the next game and you should be there to cheer them on. But taking a little time, even twenty minutes, to read, write, draw together will help you win his heart as a reliable and loving parent who is ready to meet him on his level and share the creative process with him.
THE MESSAGE IS THE MENTAL MASSAGE
Life goes on, children grow up fast. Taking those twenty minutes once or twice a week will change the fabric of your life. Yes, it will be hard to steer them away from their video games and texting friends. But soon your message will be clear – “I just want to spend some time with you.” No lecturing, no coaxing, no talking – just time spent together on a little project, discovering what you’re both made of without playing the parent/child roles. One night, just try this. Turn off the TV. Turn off video games. Sit down with the kids and make up a story. Just a small, simple story. And then everyone draws it. Pass the drawings around and talk about the drawing – no criticism, no reprimands, just talk.
Okay, everyone is yawning – I know. But it will pass if you repeat it next week and the week after. You WILL start having a good time. It can be a little scary at first. It’s not a video game or TV. It’s just you and the kids. don’t worry You’ll soon discover some things about yourself – family things that football and ballet don’t quite handle. Like who you are as interconnected human beings, what you think of each other, and how, without any competition or badmouthing from anyone, you can look at each other and admire each other for who you are.
THAT NICE CREATIVE FEELING
Do you remember how you wanted to paint an oil painting? Remember the art class you took in community college and loved it? Think back to the creative things you’ve done, like finding the right knobs for your kitchen cabinets, installing low-voltage lighting around your driveway to dramatically brighten the trees and bushes, or making that wacky birthday card for your kid because you just could I didn’t find one that was right? You got a warm glow from these projects, didn’t you? Okay.
CREATIVE TIME FOR YOURSELF
Take some creative time for yourself. Okay, right now your personal time is between 10:30 and 11:00 at night, when you can read a few pages of that novel you’ve renewed three times from the local library and then crash. Set aside YOUR OWN creativity for twenty minutes once or twice a week. Decide what you will do in those twenty minutes. Do you draw, paint, write? Tap into your creative mind—not for the boss, but for yourself. Recall favorite places and images from childhood. Write or draw about them. Elevate your life with color through pastels, acrylics or oils. Discover the magic of art and skill. Sit down with a sketch pad and draw your houseplants. Make a crayon out of a photo of your neighbor from your last New Year’s party (it was so funny, wasn’t it?)
It will take about a month. After these creative times, you will feel the ripple effect. It’s a wonderful feeling caused by instructing your conscious and subconscious mind to be creative and tap into parts of your brain that give you a healthy, well-balanced sense of being (even wisdom!). Then increase those minutes. Try for twenty to thirty minutes a day. The ripple effect will be more like a positive surge of good feeling, tapping into the powers of your mind that have been dormant for too long.
self-improvement, creativity, family enrichment
#Creativity #leads #family #enrichment
