A couple my husband and I are friends with have a seven-year-old daughter who consistently struggles to clean up her room when asked. Almost every evening they give her an hour to get her room tidied, and almost every evening when they remind her thirty minutes later, she hasn’t even started.
One evening her dad told her that whatever wasn’t cleaned up by the time the hour was over was going into a garbage bag and given away to kids who were in need. This was the motivation she needed; her older brother even jumped in to help because he didn’t want to see his sister lose her precious toys. Creative parenting has nothing to do with crafts or art projects. It has everything to do with being creative about how we approach our children in guiding them through life. Here are three ways to parent creatively.
1. Look beyond the obvious
With some children, a reprimand is all that’s needed to discipline. For others, more deliberate action is needed. The creativity comes in figuring out what each child needs when it’s not that obvious.
2. Look for motivators
As moms, we sometimes want a one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with our children. But if we can spend a little extra time thinking about what makes our children tick, we’ll actually have better success in getting them to do what we need them to do.
3. Look at things with a new perspective
So when you’re frustrated with your kids, or feel like you’re just not getting through to them, take a moment to think about the situation creatively. Come at it from a different angle. Put yourself in your child’s shoes and try to figure out what might work.
That’s the kind of creativity that will make your parenting easier, less stressful, and more beneficial to your children.
What other suggestions do you have for creative parenting?
