The author *Carl Honore in his best selling book, questions our 21 century approach to 'high pressure' parenting whereby time and space for children is 'micromanaged'. Honore advocates consciously creating free time for exploration. Something early childhood educators have abdicated for years but ignore by overly anxious parents residing in a 'speedy' Western culture.
Often to create space for themselves, parents' condone children watching inordinate hours of TV, which is detrimental to brain development, invest in expensive toys, project anxiety about test scores and future success. This approach unfortunately stifles creativity, limits problem solving, self reliance and in fact is more likely to stress children.
Children love to explore, they learn through their senses and play. They have a natural curiosity. As a baby grows their need to explore increases. If we view the child as the protagonist, by simply providing a few inexpensive objects to play with in a safe environment, parents can help facilitate a child's autonomy, imagination and creativity. Importantly, if self directed play is encouraged at home, it can allow the space for a parent to relax, regroup and unwind.
Pretty simple really, a more relaxed home life where children can explore safely, is more likely to fosters creativity and at the same time parents can chill and regroup. A positive reinforcing feedback loop!
As the holidays approach, why not take a nature walk to collect natural material for a home 'Busy Box'. Include re-cycled paper, paints, brushes, scissors, adhesive so your child can create endless masterpieces. Re-stock regularly. Hopefully you will create more harmony home so you can relax.
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* Carl Honore Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children From The Culture of Hyper-parenting 2008
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