How to Use Your Creativity to Really Help Your Children

I remember it as if it happened yesterday. It all began when I realized that using creativity to find solutions for our kids could be a real game changer.

It was during summer vacation. All of my kids were home. I don’t even remember where I had to go, but I definitely needed to be somewhere at a certain time. And all my kids were home for summer vacation. My two oldest girls had both recently entered adolescence. There was a lot of jealousy going on and these two weren’t getting along very well. My husband and I were working on how to address this.

But that day I needed to go and there was no way to get around it. Both of my girls were very responsible. Normally I could put them in charge of the little ones for a few hours and everyone would be fine. Normally, but not today. Definitely not until we were able to find some kind of solution for the competition between the two girls.

If I left both of them in charge now, they would be constantly fighting and arguing and who knows what I would find when I got home. Bringing in a babysitter would be humiliating for the older girls. So what’s a mom that’s got to go, to do?

Using Creativity Saves the Day

Thinking about it, a few days before, I had a brilliant flash of genius. It was summer, and down the street from us was another young mother who ran a camp for very young kids every morning.

I realized that she would probably love an extra pair of hands to help her. I called her up and asked her if she would like to have some extra help for the day. She was delighted and readily agreed.

One of my daughters is quite adventurous. Therefore I asked her if she would like to help our neighbor for a morning. She was gung-ho and really up for the challenge. Voila, problem solved!

The whole day worked out beautifully. I was able to get where I needed to go. One of my daughters, did a great job happily watching her younger siblings. And my other daughter had a great experience doing something new, learning new skills and really helping someone. My neighbor was delighted.

It was then that I realized that mothers really have the ability to use their creativity to come up with solutions for challenges that they face in their families. When we are caught up in the challenge of the moment, we are stressed and overwhelmed. But if we release the stress and the pressure and allow ourselves to take a few minutes to use our creativity, we can solve problems that may seem insurmountable at first glance.

Although of course in the many years that I was a parent before then, I am sure that I came up with tons of creative solutions. It was just that the thought process I used in preparation for that morning, somehow brought home the fact to me that creativity can be used to jump many hurdles in my parenting dilemmas.

Sometimes, even seemingly insurmountable difficulties are overcome by really using creativity. It is a process that I now use regularly to approach many different areas in my life.

So the next time you face a difficulty at home, take a deep breath. Ask yourself if you can find an alternative solution. Here are some examples:

Ideas for Using Creativity to Find Solutions

Let’s say you are drowning in clutter and you need some organizing help to get started. But unfortunately, you don’t have the funds to hire someone to help you. And just let’s say that you are very artistic and have a great knack for decoration or __________ (fill in the blank with your unique skill set).

You have a super organized friend. Her house is always spotless and she is redecorating her home. A match made in heaven! Offer her some design expertise in exchange for a certain number of hours of decluttering or organizing spaces etc.

It doesn’t really matter what your skill set is, it’s all about using your creativity to find a way to do the job.

Let’s say you really need some parenting help or just some other moms to bounce around some ideas. Rather than hiring a parenting coach, you could ask around in parenting facebook groups if there are other mothers who would like to form a parenting Mastermind to help each other. Or alternatively, form a group of women and hire a parenting coach. The cost is much lower and the group meets with the coach to get personalized advice.

Thinking creatively, you can find all kinds of great solutions to your unique challenges.

Perhaps you’ve just had a baby and desperately need some cleaning help. However, your budget doesn’t allow for the help. By carefully scrutinizing your budget, you will be able to find some unnecessary expenses that you can drop in order to get the help that you need.

Perhaps it means giving up cable or buying simpler foods-or even cutting out bottled water and using a filter instead. There are usually some unnecessary expenses that you can cut and lead to extra money that you need.

Getting extra help will reduce your stress levels and you probably won’t even miss the things that you gave up.

And as the new school year starts, Moms can think creatively to help their kids succeed in school both academically and emotionally. Kids often struggle in school. Succeeding in school is so important and it determines how your kids will perceive their efforts for the rest of their lives. Read more about this below:

How to Maximize Your Child’s Success in School

How to Reduce Anxiety as the New School Year Begins

If your child is feeling nervous before school, look for a creative solution. Take your child to school before school starts. Have him/her meet his teacher, show him/her where his/her locker is.

Are you feeling unsure as to how to use your creative energy to help your child succeed in school? Keep in touch with your child’s teacher and ask her what your child needs.

Another great thing that I am so excited about this year is a free 4-day online summit for moms about back to school from 12 educational experts. The speakers featured in the Back to School Summit include professional educators, teachers, tutors, counselors, academic mentors, and parenting coaches.

The topics of the summit range from study skills, reading comprehension, learning difficulties, and teacher-parent teamwork. All experts bring their years of experience in order to provide you with the best help possible for your child or teen.

Here is a way to start the school year off well by hearing from experts. You can attend all the classes online or only those that are of interest to you. To register for this four-day free summit click here

Another creative way to help your child is to bring class mothers into a what‘s app group to help each other with school. If mothers want to get together to buy something for the classroom, they can arrange it in the chat. If your child forgot his homework you can ask in the chat etc.

Using creativity can help you with your hubby relationship as well. Perhaps you can meet your spouse once a week for lunch and get to spend some much needed time together, or discuss an important issue! It might take some planning and a little extra driving, but the benefits will outweigh the difficulties.

If you and your spouse need a night out and finding babysitters is a problem, perhaps you can co-babysit with another friend or family couple. You can send your kids to them for a sleepover one night and then you can take their kids another time!

You can also plan a family outing that will give you and your spouse some down time together while your kids splash around or play.

There are many solutions to everyday problems that may seem overwhelming at first glance. Take some time to get some perspective on the problem and then use your creativity to find a workable solution. You will find that the process gets easier each time that you do it and things do not look as bad when you believe that you can find a great solution.

Wishing you and your family a great school year and have fun thinking creatively! Please comment, like and share with your friends.