Newport Gulls 2010
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publication date: Jun 18, 2010
Have a Parenting Question. Ask Donna! A: Watch your children at play. Observe how they respond to their environment. They view surroundings through a fresh, natural, uninhibited lens—interacting with the world with spontaneity Children act in their world with a naturalness and unrestricted imagination that sometimes becomes illusive to us as adults.
As we grow and become conditioned through life experiences, we begin to form beliefs and attitudes that sometimes get in the way of experiencing opportunities and possibilities that are right in front of us. As we begin to limit our vision of what is relevant to our lives in the moment, we narrow the lens restricting the panoramic view of a more promising future. As we lose sight of different perspectives and options that would allow us to harvest and reap the rewards of greater clarity and awareness, we settle for the ordinary and complacent.
Children, who are curious by nature, ask questions about everything. Do we do the same or do we worry that we may appear foolish or dim-witted to others? Do we analyze the question in our minds first to decide what others' attitudes or reactions might be? Do we end up not asking the question at all?
As parents, our limiting attitudes and beliefs oftentimes don't allow us to see what the true reality is—and not the illusion we may have created. Our lens becomes too focused and narrow to be completely honest and open about what we see.
Should we get down there and play with our children? Absolutely, we should and on a daily basis. Absolutely, we should climb outside our self-created molds or climb over the walls of our self-made narrow-minded perspectives and experience the freedom—freedom to be in the present moment with the interaction of play.
Your child can teach you to remember what you once knew—the liberation and joy that play can bring. It can open up your mind once again to the panoramic vision you once had of the world. Creativity and an awakened flow of imagination will show you new doors to go through that might otherwise be missed. There is a lot you can learn about life through your child's eyes, so get down there and play.
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Donna McGoff holds a Master of Science in Human Development, Counseling and Family Studies. She believes by building confidence, building better communication, and building stronger relationships - you can become a More Positive, Effective Parent. Donna's experience includes working with children for 28 years as a counselor, a teacher, and parent workshop presenter (STEP). She is the creator of Use Your I's, a board game, published by the Creative Therapy Store of the Western Psychological Service.