8.23.2007

The Messier the Better

I mentioned in an earlier post about an article I read about laughter. It got me thinking about my childhood. My younger sister and I had quite the imaginations. We played with our neighborhood friends all the time. I vividly remember playing pretend. We would run, laugh, dream, and pretend for hours.

That led me to thinking about my own children. Sometime during my pregnancy with Ainsley I brought in the tv to help occupy Isaac, while I would lie on the couch in misery. Nine months later it was still just easier to let him watch tv while I cleaned, cooked, or even just took a shower.

I feel horrible about how much tv I have allowed him to watch. Now don't get me wrong, we enjoy watching movies together as a family, but there is nothing wrong with leaving the tv off and letting my children just be children.

After reading the previously mentioned article I decided to help Isaac expand his imagination. We recently purchased a new washing machine and decided for FHE we would build him a house together out of the box it came in. We spent an hour decorating Isaac's very own patchwork house.

We used lots paper and lots of glue to decorate the outside. So incredibly messy, but so much fun. Usually at our house any activity we do together creates tornado like destruction of our home. A theme that is quite frequent in our home is the messier the better. I am all about playing in the mud, and jumping in the puddles.

Isaac loves his "new house" and I discovered today that it has become his own little treasure chest. I found my camera, some toys, newspaper, a cookbook, toothbrush, a shirt of Ainsley's, a diaper, and a coaster all hiding in his "new house"! His imagination, it seems, is not what was lacking, it just wasn't allowed to be expressed as often as should have been.



6 comments:

Audrey said...

Brooke,

I love the house!!! It is so cute and I agree, the temptation to just allow your child to sit like a blob in front of the tv is easy to succumb to. It's always more work to do what you should do as a parent.
We really limit Ryanna's tv time in a big way and I think it's beneficial for her imagination and it has allowed me to teach her more. We are working on reading and violin and she is doing great. Derek and I have talked about it a lot and decided that one of the biggest reasons I stayed home was to be a proactive, involved parent, not just a babysitter. A babysitter would put my child in front of a tv and not care.
We all have those tv days, but I know the days that end with me planning activities and being involved with her provide me such fulfillment.

Heidi said...

That is so cute! Great idea. I too allow my kiddos to watch too much tv. It just seams easier that way. I am trying to get better though. I need to find the article you are talking about and read it. It sounds like a good one.

Tina said...

What a cute house, looks like Isaac loves it! I feel like my kids watch too much TV also. One of the best things about our new home is that the kids have a playroom...in the basement, far away from the TiVo which is loaded with all their favorite shows. Their TV watching has been dramatically decreased and I couldn't be happier.

Lara Neves said...

Wow, I don't know if I could give up all the paper....:)

Looks like such fun! I love what Audrey said, it is so true. And I totally relate to you. I find that when I'm pregnant and dying it's great to have the tv around, but then to break that habit is a bit difficult.

Michael said...

is that a scrapbooking project or a house? I am confused?

Brooke said...

I am glad to know I am not the only person out there with this struggle!!