Welcome to week 35 of The Mom Challenge!! If you are new, please know that you can jump in at anytime!! Check out all of our previous weeks here.

This week we are talking about how to raise creative kids this week. I think being creative is so important! Now, we aren’t talking about raising your child to be a musical prodigy (well, they could be!) or the artist of our time (it could happen!) but being creative leads to being good problem solvers! That ability to think outside the box will serve your child well through adulthood! And it’s something that can be learned! So here are ten ways to keep the creativity flowing in your house!

1. Ask “Why?” and “What if…” Questions

Kids ask a lot of questions! In fact, one study said that kids ask 300 questions a day! I know that it’s hard when you are asked 300 questions, but encourage your children to ask questions! You are never going to learn about things if you don’t ask questions! Even as an adult, I ask a lot of questions. (I blame my Mother who, also, asks a lot of questions!) I promise I don’t ask 300 a day, but if I’m ever curious about something – I ask! People are generally happy to teach and pass along what they know.

What if questions are my favorite. Josh asks a TON of what if’s. Some people will say “Stop with the what if’s! It’s not even possible!” but I say “Bring them on!!” When he asks things like “What if a monster came for dinner?” or “What if you were driving and it literally started raining cats and dogs?” I love it! It means that he is thinking! And when he asks silly questions, it means he is using his imagination to create those silly questions!

2. Answer Those Questions!

So now your kids are asking a ton of questions. It’s so important to answer them! Answering their questions shows that no question is a bad question. Plus, you are helping your child learn!

If your child asks a silly what-if question – answer them back with a silly answer! Not only is it fun, but this keeps the imagination going! Then, they have to tell the next part of the story!

If you don’t know the answer, don’t feel embarrassed! It’s ok! And actually, it’s good! It shows that no one knows everything and that we all, even as adults, still have more to learn about the world. Go ahead and tell your child that you don’t know. But make sure to make time to find out together the answer. This is a great way to show children how to search for answers! Plus, it’s great mom time to learn together!

If you find your child asking a lot of questions on a specific topic, it’s a great way to take your learning to another level! Visit the library, do a quick Google search or visit a museum! Get your child involved! It may help them discover a new passion.

3. Encourage and Have Open-Ended Toys

What are open-ended toys? Open-ended toys are toys that don’t have a set of instructions. They can be things like Legos, play kitchens (or pretend food), dolls, art supplies or Play-Doh. Open-ended toys are great because they allow to kids to use their imaginations! Are they playing house or opening a restaurant? Are they building a spaceship and then traveling to Planet Zion or building a town? (Psst! You can see our favorite open ended toys here! )

4. Have Easy Access to Those Open-Ended Toys!

I used to teach pre-school and one thing that some teachers did that drove me absolutely crazy was that they would ‘close’ centers or keep the art supplies up high where kids couldn’t use them. If you would ask why they had a good reason – it gets messy. But that’s not a good enough reason! Who cares if the kids drag every.single.piece of dress up clothing out? And seriously, wiping down the paint table takes just a few minutes! Giving kids easy access to ways to pretend and create is SO important in fostering creativity! Encourage children to play! Even if that means there is a mess! (And then, encourage them to help!)

5. Be Open Minded

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook page and it made me laugh. Been there! But I try REALLY hard NOT to! So what that they Lego set they are using is to build a pirate ship and they chose to build a space ship? Give your children the tools and let them create!

One thing I learned while teaching is not to ask children what they made? (Who wants to work hard on a project just to have no one be able to recognize it?) Instead, ask them to tell you about their project!

6. It’s OK to Try

If they are trying do something and it turns out not to work or work like they should just remind them that it is ok! It doesn’t mean you failed – it means you succeeded in finding a way that it doesn’t work! Ask them questions to help guide to what could be fixed and to help brainstorm ideas that might work.

7. Keep A Stress Free Environment

This is important just for overall health in general! Stress is no fun. Nothing kills the creative mind like stress! If your child is painting try not to say, “Are you done yet? Are you almost done?” I understand and am all for time restraints! But make sure your child has enough time! Don’t rush them through their work! I wouldn’t want to be rushed either! While they are complaining try to keep your grumbles about noise and mess to yourself (unless things get out of control!) As long as kids help clean up their mess and aren’t crazy and disturbing the neighbors (or you on the phone!) let them play. Let them be kids! If you find your kids (or yourself!) getting stressed – go for a walk, take a nap or my favorite….

8. READ!

Reading is SO good! Good for the mind! Good for relaxing. Good for learning. Good for creativity. Good for bonding. Good for everything! Read to your child! Everyday! When they are older make sure they have a reading time. Books are so powerful!

9. Cook Together

Cooking is another great bonding time. It’s a fun process that kids can do and make something seriously delicious (or, well, not! We’ve made those too!) When kids get older it’s a great way to turn it into a chemistry lesson! And even better, when they get older they may turn into a great chef and make you deliciously awesome meals! 🙂

10. Model a Creative Lifestyle

Showing your children that creativity is important to you is a great way for them to grow up with it being important to them. I’m not saying you need to be creating a mural in your living room, but if painting is your thing do it! If gardening is your peace go for it! If you love to read, make the time! And not only while the kids are asleep! Let them see that you enjoy giving your mind an exercise! Be a role model!

(Don’t forget to pin!)

What is your favorite way to be creative?

Welcome back to The Mom Challenge. If you remember, we started this series a while ago. I’ve been wanting to do another ‘challenge’, but I have been drawing a blank. Today something happened. At first I was a little…put off by it. And then, I realized this was the exact inspiration that I needed for a new Mom Challenge post. (Right – always look for the positive!)

Before we go on – you can check out all of our past ‘challenges’ here.

Don’t judge me. That’s this week’s challenge. Well, not to judge period.

But first, a little background of where all of this is coming from. Yesterday my post on our chore magnets was featured on another website (thank you). Essentially – they were magnets. With chores on them. Josh could pick what chores he wanted to do and earn his allowance. We also color coded them to help earn TV/Video Game time. I had lots of emails asking “what did you put on the magnets?” So I posted my list. Some things included chores like “Take out the trash.” some things included things like “Try a new food.”. And yes. One of them included “Brush your teeth.” (Don’t worry – we had 2 magnets for that! One for the morning and one for the evening!) Well. Then I got this lovely comment:

Sheri wrote:

“Overall, a generally clever idea, but I was appalled at one “chore magnet”. Brushing one’s teeth is not a chore! It’s a matter of personal hygiene, like washing your hands, and taking baths, and going to the potty. Failure to brush your teeth can land you in the hospital under general anesthesia. Not to mention black teeth and no friends and very likely bullying. You’re paying your child 50 cents a day to do something they are REQUIRED to do, twice a day everyday, no questions asked??”

FIRST.

I love comments. I love hearing your thoughts, your ideas and getting to know my readers. Just so you know! Please comment away!! 🙂

I’m very sorry I appalled you. I absolutely agree with you. Dental hygiene is so important! That’s why I added it to our chore magnets! I wanted to make sure that it was done. Twice a day. For the right amount of time. And included mouthwash and flossing.

I know how important dental health is (please see above comments!) What you may not know is that sometimes everyday things can be torture for different people. Especially kids who suffer from sensory issues and Autism. Which we just happen to have. (Thankfully things like brushing teeth are not an issue for us anymore!)

BUT…why does it matter?

(This was the quote that started this whole series!)

WHY do women and mothers judge other mothers like this. Especially mothers who are there, trying, involved, working to make their children’s lives the best that they can.

Stay at home moms judge moms who are working. Working mom’s are judging moms who choose to stay at home.

Breast feeding moms and formula moms. Diaper moms vs cloth diapers. Organic vs non-organic. Parents who choose to let their kids sleep in bed with them.

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Mom’s who let their kids cut their hair however they want, the mom who let’s her son wear his superman costume to the grocery store, the pacifier moms, the blanky moms, the moms who run through the fast food line.

The over weight child’s mom, the child who is not participating in extra curricular activities, the child who is participating in too many extra curricular activities.

And apparently the mom who paid her child 50¢ to brush his teeth.

Being a mother is the hardest job in the world. WHY are we picking out women to put down. To judge. I could understand if maybe I was being judged because my child didn’t even OWN a toothbrush. But listen. I’m here. I’m trying. I take the best care of my child just like the next mom. If I didn’t love my child I wouldn’t write a ‘mom’ blog. If you didn’t love your child – you wouldn’t be reading an article about a Mom Challenge.

I’m not perfect. I don’t pretend to be. I should have made my son eaten more vegetables. (Here. Want to judge me? The only fruit he will eat is a banana. I made him try a bite of pineapple the other day and he gagged. Trust me. I’m pretty sure it was the biggest form of torture that he’s ever been put through.) I probably shouldn’t let him stay up as late as I do on the weekends. I should make him cut back on his video game time more.

But he’s a good kid. He’s respectful. He’s polite. He’s smart. He’s sweet.

And, to be honest. It’s not really anyone’s business. (Now, I know I put it out there on the internet for all to see so maybe it is other people’s business…) How about this. It’s not anyone’s business to judge me as a mother.

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It’s time to put the boxing gloves away. We need to quit bringing others down and instead support other moms. We need to tell each other, “Hey, I know it’s hard. You are doing a good job.” We need to quit competing on who can be the best and be ourselves. We need to start worrying about other people’s kids less and our own more. But most of all, we need to quit judging other mothers.

Not only will cutting out the judging make us nicer, better people, but that will translate into being an even better mom! Living a positive life makes you happier! Being happier means you are more fun to be around! Plus, let’s lead by example! Let’s teach our kids that not everyone does things the same way. Some people have different ideas. That’s what makes us unique. That’s what makes us special. And that’s why we, as a whole, work. We each have something important to bring to the table. We can all learn from each other.

And please, don’t think this post is about a comment I recieved. I actually received lots of comments on this post and others that were not so nice. Normally I delete them. But this time I let them inspire me. This challenge is not directed at anyone nor is it to make someone look or feel bad. The fact that mom’s need to support each other has been on my heart for a while now. Parenting is hard – let’s not make it harder!

Don’t forget to check out the other 33 week’s Mom Challenge posts here.