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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Creative Discipline or Creative Interior Design?


Some of my son's favorite toys are of course his one thousand piece train sets, then his ten thousand set lego train set and not to be outdone, his one hundred thousand piece whatever train toy set. He is so into creating, building and playing with all these little toy pieces that sometimes it becomes a big problem. We can't get him to do anything ELSE! He simply won't stop. I think he gets this from his old man. We both have addictive behaviors when it comes to something we are passionate. We get very agitated and frustrated if we are interupted or even distracted. We are not to be disturbed because an artform is being created! Every inch is crucial and every angle makes a difference. I was in to building futuristic aero dynamic space fighter planes and I know what goes on in his mind as he lays the tracks and creates a whole new train track neighborhood or community. Once he's done, he gets so excited jumping up and down trying to win our praises.

The problem is sometimes, his creativity conflicts with other important events that take place on a normal day. For example: taking a bath, going to sleep or even sometimes dinner! We have a house rule and that is we always put away our toys when it is time for the next thing on our schedule, like dinner. However, my little guy seems to prefer leaving his thousands of little pieces of toy everywhere and therefore we have to resort to "time out." No, not time out for my little guy, but rather "time-out" for his toys which he leaves behind. We live in a small 2 bedroom apartment, and finding a spot that our little guy can't reach is sometimes challenging because he can be very resourceful when you are not paying attention. We ended up timing out his toys by placing them on the very top of our shelves, our kitchen cabinets, our fireplace..or wherever we can find a flat surface that is beyond our son's reach.

Our friends came by to pay us a visit the other day and the funny thing they told us was the fact that they loved how we had decorated our home with toys everywhere on eye-level! And each time they come, our place looks a bit different depending on the kinds of toys being timed-out! Like today, the theme of our decoration is... Legos! Discipline for our son AND creative interior design, one stone two birds!

21 comments:

Bella said...

hey ,
nice post, sure your son is very creative. wow......
make me wish to have kids
:)

Anonymous said...

Having worked in the games industry for many years it became very evident that there was a difference between unstructured creativity - purposeless and with no responsibility and purposeful - goal orientated problem solving creativity. It is a moot point if children a purpose less. At the conscious level this may be, and the 'goal' may not be explained in 'utilitarian' terms. However sub consciously it may be about developing the skill of generating options - which is good for mental well being throughout life.

Anonymous said...

This is simply too cool of a blog. Great job dad

Anonymous said...

Been there and done that. We used to hang his dolls along with the pots and pants. Our neighbor thought we were a bit creepy. They didn't think it was imaginative decorations.

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean by the mess. We have 5 at home range between 2 -7. Want to come to my house and see our mess? We have stuff on top of our ROOF! Take care and I love this blog.

Anonymous said...

Awesome story!

Anonymous said...

I remember I used to drive my mom bunkers! I had to play with Legos and one time I a hold of a box of macaroni. I thought it would be cool to use them as part of my lego town. Mommy didn't think it was funny when she saw that lego town got over populated.

Anonymous said...

Are these cartoons your own? Great story. Looks as if you have a soon to be inventor, architect or interior decorator. Pretty cool.

Anonymous said...

You are a creative parent. Good job and love what you are doing to your house.

Anonymous said...

I have done that in the past as well. Parents needs to be resourceful. I am glad I can be inspired once again by this blog.

Anonymous said...

My boy won't stop if he is on a project. He is now an Engineer for Nasa space. I am so proud of him. I would say your son is on the right track. Boys will be boys and when they don't take a bath, they simply stinks but they still love there momies.

Anonymous said...

Your friends are very kind to say that. My friends simply comes over and re-decorates without permission.

Anonymous said...

I am glad you are able to find one solution for two issues. Great job dad and mom.

Anonymous said...

Good job Dad...next time try bringing him to the neighbors. Little guys are sometimes more considerate when they are at a different environment.

Anonymous said...

Good job dad!! Really admire the creativity.

Anonymous said...

As parents, we just have to do what we have to do sometimes and it's great you find way of doing it. Thanks for sharing with your heart.

Anonymous said...

Your writings are so down to earth. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Your stories really hits home for us. I am glad we are not the only parent in the world that share similar experiences as you guys.

Anonymous said...

Good stories you got on this blog.

NoMommy said...

Hmmm, thousand piece train sets, I think you have just given me a glimpse into my future...

Anonymous said...

That's a creative way of taming your kid's passion. Although a lot more learning can be acquired if left alone till he 'tires' up, a 'time for everything' must also be addressed to eventually make him a productive member of society. You're doing great!