What more wearying thing in this life than to be always endeavoring to render everything perfect? Being an ideal parent or the most caring parent can be so demanding that it feels like a treadmill that is slowly yet definitely accelerating, and you cannot keep up with it. Everyone is pushing the idea of merely continuing to do more. More learning play, more organized activities, and more vegetables in the form of fun shapes are what is thrown at you. Perhaps, though, it is not to do more of everything but to strike a balance in the middle.
Balance can seem a very boring concept to the majority of you, though, as a matter of fact, it is the primary feature of a happy childhood.
The Busy Trap Vs. The Pleasure of Boredom
Recall a normal week. Usually, it is filled not only with school but also with swimming lessons, playdates, and homework. Great as it is, the structure providing the children with a sense of security can prove to be so overwhelming that it results in the exhaustion of everybody. Children are supposed to receive equal rest as adults. They require such unstructured quietness whereby they can just look through the window or can even create a hiding place out of the sofa cushions without any learning intention to it.
It is also during this time that creativity can be produced, since boredom can be utilized as a great learning aid to the developing brain. But, though, it is not good to be extreme. The existence of life without any restrictions or routine can be perceived by a child as a chaotic. They desire to know what the next thing will be, i.e., a bedtime story or the rule to consume snacks after fruit. Thus, the point is to find the ideal balance between structure and freedom at which point structure and freedom intersect.
Letting Them Feel the Rain
This applies to emotions, too. Usually, parents and carers advancing a child through Fosterplus would be quite keen on protecting the child from experiencing disappointment. A child’s face that goes out of shape because of a lost game or an ice cream that has fallen off is indeed very upsetting, even to the onlookers. Nevertheless, if kids are never allowed to be sad or angry, they are, in fact, deprived of the chances of learning how to bounce back.
A balanced consequence of that would be to justify those big feelings as well as softly prompting them to proceed. It is all about educating them that the sunny days are beautiful, but the rain is only a part of the weather, nothing more.
Screens, Greens, and everything in between.
And what about technology? That’s always a tricky one. It is difficult not to ban screens altogether, which can be somewhat inappropriate in a digital world, and it is also not very good to leave screens unattended. Balance in this case may come as having a family movie night with popcorn, as this is a beautiful family experience, but then clearing the tablets when it is time to walk to the park.
Parenting happy children does not mean being guided by a set of rules and making everything right every day. It is messy. Pyjama days with a little too much television and some days packed with wholesome outdoor adventure will be the order of the day. And that is perfectly fine.
Establishing the Perfect Project.
Halfway in between ensures that the parents and carers make the children secure enough to explore and at the same time feel enough to experience failure. It is not a matter of walking on a narrow path without falling; it is merely a matter of knowing how to balance oneself once the wind blows.