Children see—even if they don’t have the capacity to articulate what they see—they see and their mind records what they see. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the situation and how you respond.
Many, many years ago when my son was about three-and-a-half, I went on an errand that I thought would take about 15 to 20 minutes, with the intent that afterward we would go to the park and play. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. I thought all I had to do was walk into the stationery store, pick up a job from the printer, pay for it, and leave. When we arrived, we were told to would take just a little more time. Well, that little more time stretched into 45 minutes.
I kept offering to come back later, but they kept saying it would only take a few more minutes. In the process, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated and angry. In hopes of reducing some of the stress I finally took my son by the hand and walked the isles in hopes of finding some pens and paper I could buy him so we would have something to play with while we were waiting.
We had just found the pens and paper when the owner came out and announced that the job would not be done until the next day, so I purchased the pens and paper, left the store and headed to the park.
In the back seat of the car on the way to the park, my son drew the above portrait of me.
When got to the park, he showed me his picture. I was stunned! In that moment, even though it was embarrassing to have been captured so accurately I said, “Wow! That is amazing! I was really angry. I was really frustrated!” He smiled and said, “Yes!” Then he jumped out of the car and said, “Lets go down the slide,”
I have held on to that picture for several decades in hopes of reminding myself to be more conscious of my beliefs, perceptions, and actions, because children are observing, and it is impacting them all of the time even if they don’t have the capacity to articulate what they see.
I have found that the ICWIB activities not only help me reduce stress and release bottled-up emotions, but that they also help me see more clearly, which ultimately helps me to not take on inaccurate beliefs, and to transform the ones I have already taken on.
With this in mind, I invite you to explore some of the ICWIB art activities and videos for FREE.
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If you would like to read previous posts, you can find them under resources.