In Honor of Whimsy

One can easily argue that life these days is far too structured, especially for our children. From the time they wake up to the time that they go to bed, everything is divided into neat little segments: wake up, shower, eat breakfast, school, lunch, more school, soccer practice, dinner, homework, sleep. Such structured days most certainly leave little room for our kids to simply sit and allow their minds to go on an adventure of their own.

Let Their Creative Side Shine

Whimsy, that natural creativity and curiosity for life is becoming extinct to our generation of children. It is important for us, as parents, to nurture and allow this innate creativity to develop in our children for their own success and well being.

No matter how many hours we have spent sweeping, vacuuming and washing the floors, if your child asks to paint you should not deny them that creative outlet.

No matter how long you spent folding laundry and scrubbing dishes, if your child would like to play with clay and invites you to join them, you should not deny them that opportunity.

No matter how long your day has been and how much you pray for quiet, if your child would like to “play” the piano (which usually involves them bashing it endlessly and perhaps attempting to “sing” along to that inaudible tune in their head), you should let them play.

Without creativity, nothing new would be created. Without creativity, we as a human race would not progress. We would have knowledge of nothing and basically be, well, like this laptop that I’m typing on – a robot with zero input, zero ideas, zero progression.

Keep it Simple

Indulging a child’s creativity doesn’t need to be expensive; some crayons and white paper are extremely inexpensive and easy to obtain. You may also want to invest in some non-toxic water color paints, age-appropriate scissors, glitter glue, glue sticks, and start saving interesting scraps of things like string, buttons, magazines, wallpaper samples, film – whatever you can think of! Your child will appreciate your appreciation of their grand vision, whatever it may be.

photo by Bianca de Blok