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Creative Parenting (page 2)
by Sheila Somerlock Ruth
http://www.mycinnamontoast.com/
Once you are (somewhat) relaxed, you can start fermenting
ideas. In order to do think creatively, you need to break out
of standard modes of thinking. One way to do that is to look at
the problem from a different perspective. Looking at an issue
from your child's perspective can give you a lot of insight. To
do this, you need to really try to see the world how they see
it. Try to remember how you felt when you were a child, and try
to think like a child. Thinking like a child with the
experience of an adult can be a powerful combination. You can
also play with other perspectives. How would Oprah Winfrey
solve the problem? What would Big Bird do? Be as silly as you
want; humor is another good tool for enhancing creativity.
All this sounds like it takes time, and it can. But it doesn't
have to. You can spend days or hours coming up with new ideas,
or one can pop out in a second. It all depends on the scope and
urgency of the problem, and on your state of mind. The more you
practice thinking creatively, the better you will get at it.
And sometimes a crisis may force an innovative solution.
Creative thinking guru Roger von Oech says that sometimes we
need a "whack on the head" to jolt us out of our routine
patterns of thinking. So the next time you find your child
jumping on the sofa or refusing to go to bed, it might just be
the whack on the head that you need.
No one can be creative all the time. Some days, the best
response I can manage is, "Because I said so." But it is those
creative moments, those flashes of inspiration, that define us
as parents.
To learn more about developing your creativity, try "A Whack on
the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative", by Roger
Von Oech
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446674559/preksmarties
"Creative Parenting" is Copyright 2000 MyCinnamonToast
All Rights Reserved
Sheila Somerlock Ruth is the founder of
MyCinnamonToast.com, a
web site devoted to strengthening family connections through
good parenting and genealogy. Subscribe to our parenting newsletter at:
http://www.mycinnamontoast.com/subscribe.html |
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