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?

I think there is a huge difference between doing arts and crafts with your children and providing an opportunity for your child to do arts and crafts. The doing with smacks of it being more for the parent who can then feel better about themselves doing such stimulating activities with their child and show off what the poor child has been forced to make creating.

I had to physically lean back to stop myself intervening when another mother actually unstuck something her DD had just done and told her how to do it properly. I think that is very unreasonable.

I don't think it is part of the parenting "contract" that arts and crafts should be provided either. However, if your child really enjoys it then I would encourage it as I do any interest. Although I am very easygoing when it comes to stuff like this, and with my DD (3) I actually leave all the stuff out on the table for her to go and do whatever she likes with whenever she likes including (gasp) glitter and PVA glue. Although I have one child, which I'm sure helps in my mess tolerance.

I fucking hate it!

I do plenty of things with the DC but glue and glitter brings me out in a rash. I am perfectly happy to leave them to it and clear up the mess afterwards. Is that OK?

I'll pass in your sympathies to them though.

My DW is always moaning at me about doing "craft" Ideas with him...

it does make a lot of mess, and DS does not look like he is suffering...

but in the interest of fairness, I know take him to Splat and Pat class, at our local nursery...

he can make all the mess he likes there. in fact they encourage it...

child getting Craft, House does not look like 1920's war zone...

everyone happy!!

YANBU, but you are being very judgmental. Us Mums have enough on our plates. It doesn't help to judge each other, I think we should appreciate that we all parent differently & those who aren't creative might be sporty, or arty, or great cooks, or linguists, or interesting and fun in some other way. Appreciate each others strengths. I would hesitate to knock someone, or feel 'sorry' for their kids because they don't do what I do.

I think it's a lot more unfair on creative parents who are desperate to encourage their children to want to colour and stick and paint but who appear not to have a creative bone in their body. Now that's sad. You should feel sorry for me instead. I've got glitter a go-go here and a DS who is only interested in lining up cars

I'm with spicemonster here. I lurve the glitter.

And the cutting and glueing and painting and colouring etc etc.

Do you think I could get ds1 to sit down and make messes Xmas decorations with me? Could I buggery. I tried for years until he got to about ten and I got The Sneer.

Now I'm casting a speculative eye et ds2 but frankly, it's not looking good.

me too.

Agree with OP - creative activities are lots of fun, as long as what you produce is actually nice. We have been having lots of fun making cupcakes recently - DD (4.7) adores choosing what colour paper cups she is going to use, measuring quantities, mixing the cake mixture in the food processor, spreading on the icing and choosing the decorations, and she is so proud at her handiwork. But we do lots of stuff - I enjoy it.

Okay so me and PlumpRumpSoggyBaps (PMSL at your name btw) are offering our glittery sticky services to all your deprived children. We have glue. We have rounded scissors, coloured paper, every kind of pen, pencil and crayon under the sun and we need creative children dammit!

I think it's really a case of 'you can't do everything'.

It really depends on what emphasis you place on creative activities (in the sense which you describe). You can be creative in lots of ways, it's not just about painting and sticking things.

We've spent all day in the park with DS doing what I consider creative stuff, but there wasn't a pot of glue or glitter in sight!

It really depends on the parents (some are very sporty, others are into nature type stuff etc) and you'd kill yourself trying to cover all the bases. Like people have already said, that's where nursery etc comes in handy!

So yes, I think you're being slightly unreasonable.

No, I disagree that crafts are "part of parenting". There are all sorts of "creative" things you can do with children. Taking them on a nature walk is creative. It doesn't have to be glue and glitter. Some people don't have the patience or skill for that.

My neighbour is a nursery nurse and had a FAB idea with paintbrushes,in summer she gets paint pots with water in and big chunkybrushes and the dcs "paint" all over the driveway with water.Tis fab.I ATTEMPT to do crafts occasionally with the dcs but find that if you use glitter you find it everywhere for the next month or so.DD loves painting but is a bit uncoordinated because of her sn and usually ends up painting more of herself than the "picture".ATM I am sticking to coloured pencils/crayons...less messy!I prefer top do stuff in summer when youcan take all the mess outside.Food colouring in water is a fav with dd at the moment,however I agree that it can all be a faf and very messy.

I think you just go with what your kids enjoy - mine love to cut and stick and use stickers and draw pictures. They also love dressing up and using a toy kitchen to role play, as well as a till, telephone and other bits and bobs that suddenly take on their own personas. They love playing with a tent in the garden and race round shouting "oy doggy come here" (and no, we don't have a dog). My DD loves music and has a keyboard - she's 5 and can't play musically so our ears hurt but she's being creative. My DS (3) loves to "write" - he's being creative. They love playdough - I hate it - but we compromise and they can have it as long as they play on a large plastic sheet and help tidy up. It works for us, anyway ;)

My dd doesn't need me to do creative with her.... I walk into her bedroom and there are socks glued to the wall, bits of string with beads on them hanging off the ceiling, her clothes on the doll, pictures stuck to her tent, shoes arranged in the shape of a letter or a number...

her 'perfumes' in jam jars on the window sill.

omg, I think I'll die if my daughter is any more creative.

tbh a lot of that cutting and sticking stuff doesn't seem that creative to me. Those usborne fairy things to do books seem very formulaic.

tbh a lot of that cutting and sticking stuff doesn't seem that creative to me. Those usborne fairy things to do books seem very formulaic.

tbh too I kind of disagree we should be doing creative stuff with them

I feel we should provide them with things that could inspire them, and the materials to do creative stuff of their choosing, and also that its not a bad idea to set an example and do the odd creative thing yourself, just as its not a bad idea to crack a book once in a while if you want your kids to be readers-but I think its pretty hard to be creative with someone, I think creativity is quite an individual thing.

If you go to a proper craft shop and buy lots of stuff you like (not necessarily knowing why) and hoard it, one day you will find a creative use for it with your children, I promise . I just watch and observe DD and see what she likes and then ideas seem to generate spontaneously.

PMSL at spicemonster - my DH is very creative and will enthusiastically do all manner of craft activities with DS...who is only capable of humouring him for a short while before demanding to build a hot wheels mega track! DH is adamant that DS will grow to love making things as he gets older...I still think he will only ever be interested in tipping up pots of glitter...

My DSs never enjoyed any art n crafty stuff until they were schoolage and in fact come to think of it DS2 has never enjoyed it full stop
The girls on the other hand...........Do arts and crafts all by themselves all day long and have done so almost since they were old enough to grip a crayon !

I feel your DH's pain JemL - I am actually very disappointed in my DS. I went to art college where I specialised in doing 3 dimensional prints with loads of collage and 'multimedia' materials. It's crushing that my DS isn't remotely interested. I have bought him £££s worth of stuff in an attempt to engage him but no joy.

He's not even interested in cake making

My latest ploy is to try and get him interested in birds/plants/bugs. Got to be better than trains and cars

We made a fathers day card yesterday with glitter and it only took about 5 seconds of me getting it out for my 3 year old to tip it everywhere. That is precisely why I hate it and let them do it at playschool!!

PMSL at this thread!!

well my dd1 is already brilliant on the violin. she's learning the tchaikovsky violin concerto and she's only 3.

if you don't teach your kids the violin they are SERIOUSLY missing out and will not be able to hold down a job or forgive you.

YABU - I feel sorry for children who do not get enough to eat at home, or whose parents are cruel or neglectful. I do not feel sorry for children who do not have access to glitter at home, especially when 99% of them have access to it at school or playgroup or nursery.

I can really see me and spicemonster getting together so we our dss can make lots of sparkly things.