To feel a bit sorry for children whose parents don't do anything creative with them?

[flamingobingo]

I expect a lot of people will think I am, but I don't care.

I don't love doing crafts (in fact it drives me mad most of the time), but isn't it part of parenting?

You kind of signed up for it, didn't you, the day you got pregnant?

can't be arsed

lol

yeh flamingo-you're for it now

Lol flamingo, have you had a pasting? Geddit?

snort @ pasting

I'd like to comment, but my art's not in it...

Well I don't do any art or crafty stuff with the kids. DH does painting and drawing and making random things from toliet roll holders, and my mum makes cakes with them so thats covered really. I do read with them, play lets spot the object beginning with the letter.... when we're out etc. They also do all manner of painting and sticking in school and nursery. My job is boiling washing the clothes and cleaning the children when they come home.

We get out the glitter and glue about once a year - to make Christmas cards - and blooming hell it makes a mess. THE GLITTER! DDs go to nursery for that kind of thing. As for what we do here, well lots of playing in the garden, allotment, sandpit, lots of reading books, jigsaws etc. They go upstairs to their room sometimes and have a great time pretending and making up stories. Dressing up is popular and they love doing 'picnics' for the teddies. Oh and we watch DVDs too!!!

craft and paint session was a disaster - the kids looked shocked, emptied paint all over the drive and stood in it, had to scrub it off the drive and change them all. They weren't impressed!

Sticking tomorrow

Saramoon, all of the things you mentioned are creative in my book!

You don't need glitter and glue to be creative.

Hm..op..you aren't very creative really, if you believe that being creative means doing arts and crafts ...

feel free to feel sorry for my children (I often feel sorry for them...they got a bit of a bum deal with getting me as their mum...poor sods)....but I hate hate hate doing arts and crafts with them...it ends up in tears (generally all participating)....however, they are allowed to help with baking and we make up our own story's and rhymes and songs and all sorts....we just don't do arts...simple...

pmsl @ the thought of a mother deep in the middle of the Amazonian jungle feeling guilty because she hasn't set up a craft hut.

DOING things with kids is a really recent and very bizarre thing. There's a lot to be said for benign neglect.

You can't make kids creative by constantly forcing activities on them:
Dance club
art club
music lesson
swimming lessons
football lessons etc etc etc
taking them her there and everywhere

Just let them be let them use their imaginations fhs

just read Lulumamas post...lololol...

never did arts and crafts with them. I'm crap at any artsy fartsy stuff and hate the mess. Poor little mites were usually the only ones taking a model to school they had actually done themselves.
Thats what they went to nursery for. But had loads of long walks in the woods, building dens, climbing trees. Regularly turned my house into whatever they were into at the time and built obstacle courses with every cushion etc they could find.
They are teenagers now and actually the older one became quite artistic and got an A in art GCSE, so I don't think they have been traumatised by this.
Also i'm not musical so didn't do much of that either. They are currently giving me a headache playing guitar and drums together in the next room.

never did arts and crafts with them. I'm crap at any artsy fartsy stuff and hate the mess. Poor little mites were usually the only ones taking a model to school they had actually done themselves.
Thats what they went to nursery for. But had loads of long walks in the woods, building dens, climbing trees. Regularly turned my house into whatever they were into at the time and built obstacle courses with every cushion etc they could find.
They are teenagers now and actually the older one became quite artistic and got an A in art GCSE, so I don't think they have been traumatised by this.
Also i'm not musical so didn't do much of that either. They are currently giving me a headache playing guitar and drums together in the next room.

i think you may have a point

i think as they get older children can do these things elsewhere without too much fuss but young ones need some sort of creative activity surely? that can be interpreted any which way but something

to me its like babies/toddlers needing talking and singing to and reading to......which have national gov endorsed campaigns, maybe there will be a 'craftstart' soon

I am so fecking relieved to read the replies on this thread. THANK YOU MUMSNETTERS!

I bloody hate doing crafts with kids. I love doing a bit of knitting and such myself but kids just spoil it.

Me and DD used to do stuff when she was poorly but the thought of letting my boys loose with any type of sticky or coloured liqued .

Christ! I spend 90% of my time cleaning up after the little buggers as it is.

My two youngest boys love pottering about in their part of the garden and just doing stuff

Anyway - free play is the most creative thing a child can do isnt it?

Sticking and pasting and painting is for school IMO.

I live in an area full of artists. On dressing up days at school, you can't move for fabulous arty creations and the cakes at the school fete could be displayed at the Tate Gallery. I find it all completely demoralising! I am quite mediocre at arty stuff and exhausted from work and having 3 kids, one severely disabled.

However, I do think it's great if you can do arty stuff with your kids, if that's what you like - it's a lovely thing to do as long as it is enjoyable. My dd spent her childhood drawing fanatically, so the fact that I didn't do many arty things didn't seem to matter.

Also, I think you have to consider your chds likes and dislikes...
my es forinstance would from a young age on (he was about 2), just happily sit and draw....he was not interested in anything else tbh...well...when he was younger....he turned out to be quite a talented artist...

my other 2 just have other interests...although, they may did something artsy at Mums and Tots, and always did stuff in Nursery and now do stuff at school...

YABU that's what school is for. good for you if you like doing all that stuff, but as someone else mentioned for all the things you are doing, there are many others that you're not teaching your children. you can't be perfect at everything.

I don't think it matters in the least! I happen to love it, but I am lacking in other things like kicking a football. Mothers can't be perfect-and would anyone want the perfect mother anyway? If they are artistic and creative they will do it anyway. My DSs play rugby, skateboard, rock climb and do all sorts of things that I have never done with them, or even encouraged! I think that healthy neglect is really good for them-they will use their imaginations and do it themselves.

You didn't apologise for saying that you feel sorry for other people's children. Thats bang out of order.

Feel really sorry for mine then, I've been knitting this afternoon getting all crafty, while the boys had to endure a non-crafty afternoon with their dad, on a mini beast hunt in the park and woodland.

Then they were totally not-crafty outside on their scooters and playing football after tea.

Tomorrow evening we'll be feeding the ducks and before I know it we'll have gone another week without any crafting bonding sessions.

I am such a bad mother someone call social services !