I have seen my own turn shoes into cars for their dolls to race across the living room, and often when I write they will sit near my feet and use my legs and office chair as slides for their Polly Pockets.

When we think of kids and their creative side, it is usually the older ones as they begin to show more signs of playfulness and open themselves to more expressive games. They can hold a colored pencil and speak, and we are constantly confronted with the proof of their daydreams.

But younger children, even infants, can be encouraged to develop this same creativity. Nurturing and encouraging it can help them later on as they reach more developmental milestones and adapt to a larger world.

Here are a few ways you can nurture your child’s creativity and help it grow:

Let Mistakes and Misconceptions Go

One of the biggest mistakes parents make is through trying to correct mistakes or misconceptions. Say your child has drawn a leopard with spots, but they insist it is a tiger. You know the right animal, and you are tempted to correct them. That isn’t bad in and of itself, but it undermines their pride in their work. This might discourage them in the future.

Let the issue go in the moment and offer praise. Then, later on, take some time to correct them by showing the differences in a natural, casual way. Maybe read a book that shows wild cats and point out the tiger and the leopard. Let them learn without feeling like they made a mistake.

Don’t Force Things

It’s Valentine’s Day, and you are doing projects with your kids. You want them to color the hearts you cut out, but one is more interested in drawing their own picture. Don’t try to force them to focus on what you want. Maybe they are more interested in what they are doing, or they are too young to give the task the attention it needs.

Either way, they are happy expressing themselves freely. In that moment, there is no reason to try and push them to do something else. It will make it seem like a chore, not something fun to do.

Open up Baby’s World

Babies do more than drool and sleep. They are constantly learning, their minds growing and new information being processed and stored. The first year is an important time as they check the world around them and learn what different elements do and react to their actions. It is like they are testing everything and figuring out what effect those tests might create.

You should try to make this world a bigger one for them to expand their view and their imaginations. One good way is through adding new perspectives. Babies naturally spend a lot of time on their backs, especially up until six months when they start to learn to crawl. Tummy time is not only important for building crucial muscles and preparing them for self-movement, but also in giving them a chance to see new things and play. Other angles can be provided by your holding them and putting them in chairs, swings, etc.

Another great method is through showing them what they might not see on their own. A favorite for most kids is looking into mirrors. They get to see “the baby in the mirror” while making faces, taking in details and theorizing about who they might be. You can also point out patterns, colors and interesting sights, explaining what they are.

Tactile stimulation goes a long way toward babies creating their own ideas about things. Different types of fabric and items being placed against their face or in their hands let’s them see different things for themselves.

Keep Plenty of Tools Around

It is easy to engage a child of any age in creative play if you have what you need to do so. That means paper, crayons, dolls, craft supplies, puppets – any items that they can use to their own advantage when it comes to playtime. They should, of course, be age appropriate, with things they can both use alone or with you.

You can also have a chest of things for dress-up: costumes, jewelry, uniforms, hats and anything else they can use to create a fun game of pretending to be someone or something else. These will be some of the most commonly used items for any child, and you can provide some for their interests as well as others they might not be familiar with to give them more to work with and explore.

Conclusion

When you have children you will always be working to improve their lives and help them along the way. Sometimes this is easier than others, and luckily, encouraging creativity is one of those simple things you can accomplish. How do you help your kids get imaginative?

Jessy is a cretivity writer, for Dobovo, the free travel app. Do you want to help your kids get isnpired, go family traveling this summer!

CC Image Credits: AlicePopkorn (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

We all lead busy lives. From jobs to school to sports to church events, it always seems like we are on the go and always have somewhere to be. With the hustle and bustle, it is very easy to let a home become neglected. It is hard to find time to vacuum, clean the windows, scrub a shower and clean a toilet, especially if these are chores that are highly despised. For people who are looking to continue with their busy lives and have the clean home that they desire, a maid service is there to help. Make sure and visit the company page of any maid service you may be thinking of hiring for the job, it helps to know if they can work around your busy schedule.

Benefits of a Maid Service

The biggest benefit of a maid service is that a maid service allows people more time. People no longer have to spend time cleaning. This new found time can be spent in other ways and people are able to do other tasks that they enjoy. A maid service can also be customized to each individual home and the needs of the homeowners. For larger homes, additional maids can be sent to ensure that the job is done in a timely fashion.

Security

Some homeowners are reluctant to hire a maid service because they are not comfortable allowing strangers into their homes. Maid services understand this and they have measures in place to ensure the safety of their homeowners and of their employees. Background checks are done on all employees to allow for the trust factor between the maid and the homeowner.

Clean your house sucks, maid services don’t!

With the assistance of a maid service, homeowners now have more time to spend with their families and doing things they enjoy. There are many good quality maid services that will make a house look and feel as it should and families will have one less thing to worry about.

But single parents can raise their children well and that is a certainty.

The problem that confronts most single parents involve the doubts that are natural consequences of the situation they’re confronted with.

“Can I be a good mother/father?”

“Will I be able to make ends meet despite being the sole provider for my family?”

“How will I make my children understand why I have to raise them alone?”

These are just some of the questions that single parents ask themselves, and these questions often cause anxiety and confidence issues.

But a single parent can perform just as well as, if not better than, the normal situation of having two parents raise a child.

Here are some parenting tips that any single parent will find very useful:

1. Always Be Present For Your Kids

Presence doesn’t mean actual, continuous proximity. There are some circumstances, after all, when your child would have to be left on his own so that he’ll learn the fundamentals of independence.

Presence means the security that your child will feel knowing that you’ll always be there for him. It is the guarantee that he can always turn to you in times of trouble or when he needs some guidance. It is the reassuring thought that he’ll never be alone because you’ll always be there to support him in every decision he will make.

Some experts label this as “emotional presence.” It can be achieved by adopting the mindset of being there for your child instead of merely being with him. If you’re playing video games with your kid, for example, try to ask him what he thinks about the gameplay or storyline of the title, then segue to a discussion on how his day went and what his plans are for tomorrow.

Emotional presence is best established through genuine and sincere communication between the single parent and the child.

2. Find Other Outlets For Your Emotional Pains

Raising a child alone because your relationship with your partner didn’t work out becomes doubly difficult if you have to contend with the emotional issues left behind by the said relationship. Most single parents, sadly, make the mistake of grieving about a failed relationship in the presence of their children. This may cause some dire results detrimental to the development of the kids: confusion, pent up anger, sadness, and a feeling of uncertainty are the common consequences. Potential emotional issues that may be carried over to adulthood and to their own relationships are also dangers that need to be considered.

When you have to grieve for a relationship that didn’t work out, then grieve, but never in front of your children especially when they’re too young to fully comprehend the situation. Talk to a friend. Engage in some productive activities. Do whatever you feel is necessary to get rid of the emotional turmoil you’re feeling, but spare your children from the same.

3. Establish A Semblance Of Permanence

Many children raised by single parents experience anxiety. Somehow, the single parent setup shatters, to a certain degree, the reassurances they need during their developmental years. This is compounded by the different media outlets they are exposed to. Most children portrayed in movies and TV shows have mothers and fathers. Same goes for the story books they read. Almost all of the fairy tales they will digest involve families that don’t have a single parent setup, after all.

It is the responsibility of the single parent to establish some form of permanence in the life of his child.

Try not to move to another locality unless it is absolutely necessary. This would make your child feel more secure as he will always be familiar with his surroundings.

Try to create a routine that both you and your child can enjoy on a regular basis. You can attend a baseball game every Sunday, for example. Or you can eat out at a certain restaurant twice a week. You can designate Saturday as “new toy day” to give him something good to look forward to every week. You can be as creative as you want, but the important thing is frequency. You want to make him feel as secure as possible, and this entails doing things together regularly.

4. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help When You Need Help

Sometimes, you’ll feel that there are certain obstacles that you can’t hurdle alone. Never be afraid to ask for help.

There are many support groups for single parents – both online and offline – that you can opt to join. Some support groups not only offer emotional assistance, they even offer financial aid, as well as referrals to state-funded scholarships for single parents in the event that you are still finishing your studies. Some support groups will even help you with the technicalities involved in demanding child support from the absent parent, if this is needed.

And your own family will always be there for you, and they will always understand – or at the very least, be willing to understand – your current plight. You can turn to them for help, whether you need financial aid, guidance, or emotional sustenance.

You should consider many things in order to adjust as a single parent. Set schedules to help you get everyone’s basic needs met, including your own. You need to be sure you allow yourself to have some free time or things could get even more difficult. Plan meals for the week, utilizing leftovers when possible so you are not standing in front of the stove more than you have time to.

Find other single parents that you can connect with. These people will be having similar issues as you do when it comes to being the single provider for children. They will be able to understand your struggles. A support network can also organize babysitting, play groups, and other ideas that will benefit all of the single parents involved.

Being a single parent takes a lot of work and dedication from you. Remember, you still need to enjoy life with your children as well as other adults. Plan fun activities as a family and also allow your children to stay the night with friends or relatives every now and then so that you can relax and take a break.

Being a single parent is often a result of death of a partner or separation. Both of these are emotionally traumatic situations and have a profound impact on the people involved. However, in most cases, the child or children withstand the worst of it. Emotional trauma in the formative years can have long-term effects on children if they are not raised with care and understanding. The loss of a parent is traumatic, but it is even more difficult to lose a partner or spouse to death or separation, and then having to deal with the added responsibility of single parenting. But taking care of certain details definitely helps to make the process easier.

Even though raising a child well alone is difficult, it is certainly not impossible.

In fact, single parents have brought some of the best men and women in the world. Even though there is no easy way or short cut of doing this and doing this right, but some small details make a lot of differenceTake control of the situation. Often the loss of a partner from a marriage leads to a loss of balance. The absence of another parent often bring children to equal status of the remaining parent and this can often lead to complex in the child that he needs to be in control.

Sharing powers is not advisable.

Keep a firm command on things and make sure you let them know through gentle yet firm rules who the boss is. Continuing the normal discipline of the house as it was prior to the separation subconsciously ensures children that not much has changed and discipline still has to be maintained. Children brought up by single parents often feel insecurity and instability due the disarray in their parental life. Putting up a show of stability in front of the child, even if things are wrong, might not be such a bad idea. This gives security to the child and a space to understand the situations. This gives them better mental armourage to perceive the actual state and deal with the situations accordingly.

Stay financially sound.

Financial security is important and though it is important to let your child know that there will be some changes around, vast and immediate hits can be detrimental.Give yourself a break. Single parents are often stressed due to their hectic schedules, and added emotional and personal baggage. Proper relaxation and rest is important for a single parent since only if you are happy inside, can you raise a healthy child without any negativity. Engage in stress relieving activities. Spend quality time with your kids. Talk to them about their anxieties, about how they feel and whether things are working for them. Children require special care and attention after the loss of a parent. Love is the only key that can pull them through their bad times.

Being a good single parent isn’t about skill or quality. It is about being optimistic, and doing your best to raise a good child.

Consider Your Children

Your children are the most important people in your life. Even if you meet your perfect match and have a successful and happy marriage, your children will still be number one. So, it is with them in mind that you must select your date with care.

The first few dates are likely going to be relaxed and the two of you will be getting to know each other. But one of the first things you must tell the other party is about your children. Be honest and up front. If they are happy with the situation, then continue the relationship slowly, and build up from there.

Get to know the other person more before you introduce them to your children, and then arrange for them to meet in a neutral place, say the local fast food restaurant. Keep it light and easy-going, and do not say this person will be their new step parent. Allow them to get to know one another over time and then go on dates to the zoo, or other such places with kids in tow.

Be True to Yourself

Of course, your children’s needs are very important, but so are yours too. If you find that you get on very well with your new partner, but there is friction between them and your kids, then try to work it out. Even though your children are important, they do not have the right to control your life by throwing tantrums because there maybe an aspect of the other partner they do not like.

It will take time and effort, but building relationships is always about that. Between you and your new partner, and between your new partner and your children. Be open, honest and communicate with all parties, explain how you feel and what you want. In other words, don’t allow your children to dictate your love life, unless there is a very good reason of course.

So, in the early stages of single parent dating, just keep things light and happy. Courting is fun anyway, so there is no hurry to do anything. Talk to your children often about your new date, and talk to your date often about your children, and that way everyone will be more comfortable.

Single parent dating is a lot of fun, but it is worth taking things slower than normal because you have little ones to consider.

Parenting teenagers is a challenge because teens are literally transforming from a child into an adult. They have to deal with issues such as alcohol and drugs, finding their place within society, learning about work and responsibility, forming friendships and relationships and the importance of community.

According to Erik Eriksons Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart, teenagers are at the adolescent stage of life where they have to define themselves through success and achievement in order to develop a strong identity. Erikson’s model does provide some insight into the development process of teens and it helps to point out how important it is for a young person to find out their strengths and weaknesses in life.

Parents could help to make this process easier for teens by helping them to figure out their interests and listening to the direction that they want to go in life. Some parents probably think that their teenaged children should mold themselves into the type of people that they want them to be once they’re grown. The reality is that many children are not going to fit into their parent’s expectations and roles. Even if a teenage child decides to become the person that their parent’s desire, there still would be big differences between them. Few children will ever be a perfect clone of their parents.

Guiding a teenager into a direction that is best suited for them is probably the best thing that most dads and moms can do for this young adult. Discovering their talent and trying to get them to develop their mind is an important part of the process. Helping them to prepare to be self sufficient and responsible is a task that parents must start during childhood years of their children’s lives. Before they become teens, these characteristics should be taught to their children to show them how to use these skills in a practical manner as adults.

Teens don’t always make the best decision and choices and they do make many mistakes. Parents will have to learn how to exercise patience and maybe to lower their expectations about their children. Not all teens are destined for college or to be outstanding members of society. The key here is to make them self sufficient, responsible, law abiding citizens as much as possible.

Parents should also be aware of the contemporary cultural climate that their child has to encounter on a daily basis. There are challenges that affect all people from each generation such as fitting in, developing a relationship and finding a good job, but there are unique problems that present themselves to each generation as well.

During the early part of the 20th century young adults had deal with two major wars and a world wide depression. In the 1950s nuclear war was an issue that many teens had to live with. The 21st century presented problems such as terrorism, the economy and the perception of declining morality within society.

Each generation has to define itself from the next out of necessity and a parent who doesn’t understand this point will quickly lose touch with their child. However, this doesn’t mean that a parent has to accept bad or irresponsible behavior from their offspring even if there is a culture that supports such manners. When it comes to parenting there isn’t a one size fit all approach that works for everyone. Each parent will have to do the best that they can do for their child and believe that they will turn out to be okay in life.