Preserving Childhood

One of my primary jobs as a mother is to preserve my girls’ childhoods for as long as possible. In a society where it seems like children are pushed to grow up faster and faster, this can sometimes feel like either a monumental challenge or that you aren’t educating your children. There are programs to teach your baby to read, sports intensive programs for toddlers, and tutoring classes to push your child to the next grade level early. What about now though?Isn’t it more important to foster a creative imagination, a sense of confidence, a close family bond?

I guess the biggest question is this: “Why is childhood something that is not tolerated by society?”

I have written about restaurants and airlines banning children as a general policy, stores banning breastfeeding (again, something that should be a norm in childhood), and schools placing unreasonable standards of behavior on children. All this adds up to a clear picture on the mainstream attitude toward kids. Then we have the mass commercialization and marketing to children that is prevalent nowadays.

This week I took AJ out to get some new flip flops. While she tried on a few pairs I walked to Moira’s section to see what they had in stock. I was stunned and appalled by these- hot pink kitten heels- for a 2 year old! What event calls for your baby to be teetering around in heels?! More so, what parent actually buys them and makes their already clumsy baby try to walk in them? (I am pretty clumsy in heels and I am a dancer!)

This is just one example of inappropriate clothing I see marketed to kids. Pre-teens in string bikinis, toddlers with shorts that say “hot stuff”, bras for 7 yr olds…. ugh! Not right!

I want my girls to embrace and enjoy every minute of their childhood because they only get one. I want them to dress up, get messy, play hard, be loud, run…. just be children! Sure I am going to teach them things, like how to help empty the dishwasher and clean the bunny cage. But I am not going to expect perfection and will guide them the same way you help a baby learn to walk, by example more than anything.

Our society is so fast-paced and tech oriented that we forget that it is way more important that your child feel safe and loved instead of knowing how to use an iPad or can sit at a desk for 6 hours without a fuss.

Preserving my girls’ childhood is something that I am striving to do everyday and I hope others do the same… your children will thank you for it!

Facelift

One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is the sheer visual-ness of it. Headers, photos, buttons, ads, links… all custom designed to fit your own theme or mood. Well, yesterday after posting I took a look at my own theme and decided that I wanted a new look for the upcoming season. The wonderful thing about WordPress is how easy it is to change your look to something that fits your personality and taste. You have to be a little bit patient and look hard because there is always a bit of tweaking to do, but there truly is a look for everyone out there.

I also updated the pages at the top of the page to include information about how I parent and links about unschooling, something that I am getting more comfortable talking about. They are still being expanded on but at least there is a start there. =) I am considering having some ad space as well, I don’t want the pages to get cluttered with ads that distract from the content but I have been asked by a few Etsians about having ads up. It is something I may consider for the future.

Hmmmm, what else?

Last night I wasn’t feeling too hot, sneezing so much that I got a bloody nose and a headache to boot. This morning luckily I woke up better though and so made the snap decision to keep my promise and take the girls to the zoo. I was very thankful we live only 5 minutes away because I wanted to get there before it opened and we had all just woken up at 9. (Mondays are free for county residents and are typically PACKED if the weather is nice!) What a surprise, when we park one of our very good homeschooling friends also pulls up with her boys! It was really awesome to walk around with them and let the kids enjoy the beautiful day. Moira shouted “HI!” to every animal that she saw in delight… she is definitely my daughter. Seriously, this baby loves all animals!

Here are a couple pics from this morning. We didn’t stay too long because none of us are fans of the huge crowds but saw just enough to satisfy everyone. I loved the meerkats the most… think I can convince Klint to let me have a few?

AJ discovered that she makes a pretty good vet and patched up a few animals, we got to see a checkup on a Singing Dog from Australia, and heard plenty of roaring from the big cats. (They were all in a mood apparently!) All in all, a very successful day.

Come back and take a peek at the various pages that I am working on, links about gentle parenting, unschooling, and more to come!

Blog Review: The Imagination Tree

Be Warned… you will spend a LOT of time on this blog! Let me introduce you to The Imagination Tree, by Anna Ranson. Anna is a UK mum to two little girls and an art educator among other things. Her blog is a creative wonderland that inspires and also simplifies the mystery of great creative play. Anna is an advocate for the importance of playtime, a cause near and dear to my own heart. But, she shows that you don’t need plastic store bought toys to have fun and that all kids really need is what parents already know- boxes, nature, a few random items, and freedom to have open ended playtime.

I found The Imagination Tree on Pinterest when I was looking for cardboard box ideas and spent over an hour just looking at all the wonderful projects and reading the well written posts. Everything from sensory boxes, like above, to baby play… something that I am not that great at doing because I get hung up on the eating materials factor with Moira. I finally made myself go to bed but felt so inspired to be more spontaneous and guiding with the girls playing. I get in the bad habit of just telling the girls to go play while I cook or take care of Moira, which inevitably leads to squabbles and boredom quickly. Now I have many ideas on creating spaces and open ended activities that will hopefully enhance the girls imaginations.

Here are some of my favorite projects:

Discovery Box 10- Tape, Tubes, and Beans

Giant Rainbow Collage

Monster Dough

DIY Treasure Chest

Edible Finger Paint

 

Seriously, this blog is a must read for anyone who enjoys simple crafting, messy fun, and imaginative times with the kids.

It is chock full of ideas and soon will be looking at the recycling bin in a whole new way! =)

Happy playing!!

Let Them Play, Let Them Fall

Today I took the girls to our local nature center. It is a lovely place with animals to touch, a Star Show that is geared towards little ones, and a play area with nature puzzles and books. Aside from the HUGE Timber Rattlesnake there, I am a fan, plus it is free so we can go whenever we want. Usually the place is crowded, but since the zoo is free on Mondays to county residents I suppose everyone was there0 the nature center was totally empty except for a handful of families.

After ooohing and aahhhing over the turtles and the bunnies we headed over to the play area for some free play and were soon joined by another mother and her 2yr old son. Right away I could tell that I was going to have to work reeeeeally hard to keep my mouth shut about what was going on. This poor little boy just couldn’t play!!! His mom was in his face, calling his name over and over, telling him how to play then making him stop to smile for the camera, then showing him a book or a puzzle, then calling his name again for something else. I have never seen a parent helicopter as much as this mother. And this little guy was so confused and in turn, took to ignoring his mom’s incessant calling and commands. I wanted to tell her, “JUST LET HIM PLAY, can’t you see you are confusing him?!”.

Why parents feel the need to direct free play is beyond me. On occasion I will make a suggestion to AJ if she looks bored or conflicted about something, but the majority of the time I just sit my tush down and watch or use the time to give Moira my full attention. I don’t ignore my children, but I do not turn into a cruise director and take command of their every move.

She climbs every tree she can and loves the challenge of it!

Even worse than the “Play Directors” are the hovering “Worry-Copters”. These are the parents who are so scared of a scraped knee or a stumble that they don’t let their kid do ANYTHING remotely risky. “Don’t pick up the woodchips! Stop running! Get out of that tree. You can’t climb that, you’ll fall and get hurt” Go down the slide the right way!” I mean really, if you aren’t allowed to run at the PARK, then where the heck are you allowed to run?

Our society is so scared that we are taking away everything that is fun and in turn creating children who are are scared to try new things, give up easily, are unable to negotiate this world on their own because they were never allowed to. Kids who are so restricted lack a great deal of creativity (I mean true creativity- not the cookie cutter “art” that schools produce) and do not understand their own boundaries and limits. People are scared of litigation, schools are focusing on academics so they are taking away recess and the arts, and our society is cultivating a culture that does not tolerate childhood. Free play at a playground? What purpose does that serve for their future?

I think that there is a line between neglectful parenting and choosing to let your children actually experience life with you serving as a guide and a resource. Have you heard that the European Union is now recommending that children wait until 8 to blow up balloons and another 6 years to blow a party whistle by themselves? Oh, and those cuddly teddy bears are a no no for children under 3 because they harbor germs… Really?! It is because of guidelines like these that parents are paranoid and kids are devoid of fun.

People. let your children PLAY!

Balance bars are your friend!

*If you are an iPhone user there is a great app by Kaboom! that lets you find nearby parks, arrange play dates, and rate them so you don’t end up at a park that has seen better days.

The site is full of suggestions on how to get grants to improve local parks and you can sign a pledge to save play at your school!