It seems that more than ever people have become busier and busier with each new obligation, and across the age range, making time for family and friends, or just for one’s self has become a bit of a challenge, especially for families that have younger children. Today Peter Minkoff has written a fabulous guest to help young families spend more time together.
Spending time with your kids comes with many layers. This means that one of the most important aspects of one’s childhood revolves around the fun and creative moments they had with the whole family. It’s understandable that parents these days can hardly find the time to take a breather, but it’s also essential to utilize every single opportunity for family creativity. Not only will this secure some of the most unforgettable memories for every single member of your family, but it will also mean the world for young developing children.
1. Even 15 minutes can be enough
People tend to overestimate the time they would have to put into the creative instances when together with younger children. However, that’s mostly untrue. Kids often really need 15-30 minutes to complete creative projects, and, more often than not, they just want your moral support. Of course, you should be there for them in case they actually need help with something. But, if your schedule is so packed every day of the week, remember that it will be perfectly beneficial and acceptable to just set aside 15-20 minutes or half an hour to provide your kids with the creative supplies and encouragement to make the most out of this.
2. Preparation is the key to successful family creativity
If your children are old enough to help you prepare for the creative time ahead, the whole preparation process can become a fun and special moment for you all. But, if your kids are still too young to help out, it’s still important to set out everything beforehand. This will help you organize the creative activities a lot better. After all, all you have to do then is get the kids around the setup and start enjoying yourselves. For parents who are really busy with everyday life and responsibilities, not having to worry about wasting time choosing the activities with cranky and bored children is truly priceless.
3. Organize gadget-free days
This may sound like a mission impossible at first, but as long as you present this as a fun time for the whole family, children will soon start exploring the possibilities outside the digital forms of fun. Just remember to keep them really hyped – for instance, you can present these gadget-free days as competitions or moments when magic can happen in the world and kids have to find it through play. Anything is allowed as long as creativity is concerned – completely free of any smart device. After all, at a young age, no gadget can beat the child’s mind and it’s important you let your kids discover that gift.
4. Education through fun and games
In case you believe that your children deserve more constructive time for developing creative thinking and learning about the world than what you can give them at home, don’t hesitate to utilize the convenience of the kids’ learning centers. One can find an educational play group in Hong Kongas well as every other part of the world, so keep this tip in mind! These effective playgroups are part of the learning institutions that want to encourage children’s curiosity for the world through fun and games and the company of their peers. That way, children get to learn, play, develop creativity and socialize!
5. It’s not all about the projects
Keep in mind that it’s not absolutely necessary for you to organize a creative family project for your kids to get the benefit of creative thinking and playing. Anything can boost their creative little minds as long as you have fun with it. For instance, you may even encourage their creative thinking as you all commit to a certain home chore by starting a “think of a story” game. You can start with one sentence and then let the kids add more sentences, and so on, in order to create a story, while you may be dusting or washing the dishes at the same time! There are plenty of options in this case, and you as a parent need to be creative too in order to help your children get their creative juices flowing.
There is no right way to do the creative family time so don’t stress over it. A lot of parents tend to worry about pointless things like “the right way to teach the kids something” but there simply is no right way! There’s only the way that suits your kids the most. The same goes for creative time and your children’s favorite activities. Pay attention to what they like and enjoy the most and then utilize that to draw their full creative potential out.
No comments:
Post a Comment