One thing that I have learned from working with children and from being a parent is that when it comes to playtime (arts and crafts in particular), the process is more important than the final product. Unless you have an art prodigy on your hands, more than likely arts & crafts time will be messy and imperfect. Your kids will draw outside of the lines. Googly eyes will be glued on in random places. The sky will be green and the grass will be purple. Things may not turn out the way you envisioned them. But, you know what? Your kids will have fun putting it all together and playing with you. Isn’t that what really matters?
I think that Pinterest Perfection has caused some of us to forget this. What is Pinterest Perfection? It is when we embark on doing something at home (often with our children) that we plan to snap a picture of and post on Pinterest. I think this may be more common for bloggers than for anyone else. Especially mommy bloggers. And since we are posting it to Pinterest, we want it to turn out looking nice. So that may cause us to balk a bit when our kids do something that will mar that appearance of perfection. It may lead us to take over and do things for them. To put misplaced objects in the correct place. To instruct them to color things the right color. In short, focusing on the perfect product can make the process less fun. No one wants that! Playtime should be all about play. About learning new skills and having fun. Spending quality time with your kids.
I admit that I am guilty of doing this. Not necessarily for Pinterest, but just in general. When my son puts a puzzle sticker on that is a bit lopsided, my tendency is to want to straighten it out. I’ve noticed that other people do the same thing when working with their kids. But by fixing these things for them, we don’t give them the opportunity to learn and grow. Not to mention it can stifle their creativity. I mean, look at all of the abstract artists out there. What if their parents had told them that their art had to be done “just so”.
I just feel like sometimes we need a reminder to just let kids be kids. Things don’t have to be perfect. Not even for Pinterest. 🙂
Let’s Discuss It: Do you ever find yourself correcting your kids during arts & crafts? Comment below!