our main topics
Smart Babies
Smart Preschoolers
Early Reading
Early Math
Gifted and Talented
Learning Fun on the Web
Mom's Page
Family Freebies
Software Reviews
Parent Connection
sites of interest
HerTopSites
Sites for Teachers
Teach-nology
tell-a-friend
Do you have a friend with preschoolers who might be interested in this site? Click here to tell-a-friend.
|
Creative Parenting
by Sheila Somerlock Ruth
http://www.mycinnamontoast.com/
"The dynamic principle of fantasy
is play, which belongs also
to the child, and as such it appears to be inconsistent with
the principle of serious work. But without this playing with
fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt
we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable." -Carl Gustav Jung
Parenting requires creativity. It's easy to get caught up in
the mundane, day-to-day routine and forget how creative we must
be as parents. Every day presents new challenges, and every day
we must think of new solutions to those challenges. While there
are many resources to help us--parenting books, magazines, web
sites, and discussion groups--in the end it all comes down to
resourcefulness and creativity. Every child is different, and
every parent is different, so every solution must be different.
Advice from experts and other parents can give us ideas and
help us in the right direction, but we must adapt those ideas
to our own situations. And every now and then, we come up with
a flash of inspiration, a creative idea that is uniquely ours.
I had just such an inspiration recently. My 4-1/2 year old son
refused to go to bed, insisting that there were monsters in his
room. This is a kid who has loved spooky things for quite some
time, and who "knows" monsters aren't real. But for some
reason, suddenly the monsters became real, and they were scary!
All my reassurances didn't help at all. Then I remembered
reading that you should acknowledge a child's fears, instead of
making light of them. So, I started trying to see it from his
perspective. If the monsters are real, what could we do about
them? The answer that popped into my head was, "Well of course,
we have to scare them away."
I asked him where the monsters were, and he said, "Under the
bed." I said, "Shhh, lets sneak up on them." I tiptoed to the
bed and bent down to look under it. My son followed nervously,
but he burst out laughing when I yelled at the monster at the
top of my lungs: "Waaaaaaaah". After we had a good laugh
together, we scared the monsters out of his closet and a few
other places together. He enjoyed yelling and then laughing,
and with the monsters banished, he went to sleep with no
problems.
We all have the power to be creative. But it can be tough to be
creative when the baby is crying, the kids are fighting, and
our brains are fogged with lack of sleep. Here are a few tips
to help you.
First of all, take a step back. Unless you are dealing with a
situation which requires an immediate response, such as a child
in a dangerous situation or hurting another child, take a
minute to calm yourself. Tell your children you need to think.
Then walk away for a minute, take some deep breaths, try to
relax and clear your mind. Even better, put in a video tape for
the kids and go take a bubble bath. I'm not advocating using
the TV as a babysitter, but it won't hurt now and then, and the
result will be a happier, more relaxed parent. It's much easier
to think creatively when we are relaxed.
Go on to Page
2 |
