The joys of raising a creative child

If you've got a crafty, creative kid in the house, then you know how hard it can be to throw shit away. She has no qualms going through the recycle bin or the trash can to find whatever she needs to make whatever the hell she is making.

And if she doesn't have a pressing need for something, she'll tell me "Don't worry, Mom! I'll find some way to use it!" which means I will find it or some part of it taped to an empty milk carton with an entire roll of packing tape.

I do put my foot down to formerly edible items, but for the most part, I end up giving in once she explains what sort of fabulous invention she's trying to complete and well if she doesn't have that empty tissue paper box then how will she be able to finish her "Namerator" aka "Big box with holes, a nail, and a lot of permanent marker that is sitting on my kitchen table that I'd like to accidentally drop off the back porch."

(Only after taking 15 pictures of it, bragging about it to all my friends, and patenting it).

Just when I'm about to tell her that she may not use the 400 styrofoam peanuts, I picture her first gallery opening where she's describing her unique "trashtastic" work and telling the captive audience about how her mother never let her use the empty toilet paper rolls and water bottles so she had to scavenge the neighborhood trash bin looking for materials.

And since I shall never be accused of not supporting the Arts, I reluctantly save anything that I think she could possibly use that won't pain me to look at for the next month or clean up pieces of and I give them to her. Willingly.

But the trash picking isn't the only issue.

There are the kitchen utensils with writing on them. 

 
I have no idea what it means but it makes me laugh every time I see it.

And there are spots around my house where it looks like a crepe paper bomb went off or the glitter fairy took a giant shit, which isn't so terrible but when combined with whining that ensues when I tell her that she needs to clean up the mess herself makes me want to do like the government and start cutting art programs.

"All by myself?!" she'll exclaim, to which I respond by singing the song, Celene Dion version if you're wondering, and say something like "If you make a mess yourself then you should be able to clean it up yourself" from the mouth that is now apparently attached to my own mother's body.

But my favorite is the one track uber-focused mind that results in post-bathroom break art sessions ala sitting naked at her craft table sifting through a sea of googly eyes. Or worse, forgeting to pack the jelly beans for our family trip last week.

Now I've never given much thought to jelly beans, but that was before I understood their true power: Children will do many things for them, including going potty and shutting the hell up on a plane.

So imagine my chagrin when my slightly antsy middle children requested access to the Jelly Belly buffet and found no such thing.

A whole bag of precious silence and eager potty breaks gone.

I glared over at Quinlan who was supposed to have put them in her backpack. It seems that when I told her to take the bag of jelly beans and put them by her bag so we don't forget them she heard me tell her to put them down wherever so she could finish making a weather vane out of some printer paper, yarn, and a wire hanger.

Alas, no jelly beans to be found, but in their place,  something even more entertaining, at least for me, anyway:

Perhaps she did, in fact, pack food!

Not sure if carrots will beat jelly beans, but worth a try.

 
Except they're not real carrots, but rather a carrot made from crepe paper, clear packing tape, and yarn. The bags of shredded paper you ask? Why CARROT TOPPINGS, of course!

Treats for humans? Not so much. But so glad her stuffed bunny was taken care of. Phew.

Well, at least her Knuffle Bunny was well behaved for the flight. And we got to come home to a big bag of jelly beans.

Sitting on my printer.

Of course.

Comments

[SharkFuel@kids iPhone game]

Just would like to say that raising a creative child is a very creative process itself. Only creative people can become good parents, who raise good kids.

[cheap jerseys]

The best was the proclamation that he was going to use the broken stuff to make "a broken time machine.

[Julie Marsh]

Fully half of our kitchen island cabinetry is the "craft cupboard", and the stuff continues to encroach on other drawers, cabinets, and counters. The fits that are thrown when I insist on a major clean-out are epic.

CJ recently asked me whether I kept all of her school paperwork. When I said no, she was aghast. I tried to explain the fire hazard aspects, but she wasn't mollified.

She and Q and Laurel ought to start an arts and crafts co-op.

[Redneck Mommy]

My daughter was the worst hoarder when she was younger. She's crafty and artistic too and there wasn't a sheet of paper in our house or prop that couldn't be used for a craft that I was allowed to throw out.

Thankfully, she goes to school during the day and I was able to purge in her absence. As she's grown older she is far more selective in her hoarding tendencies now. She keeps it to mainly half eaten apple cores tossed under her bed, mounds of electric blue eye makeup and more acrylic and oil paints than Picasso would find necessary. Still, I consider this progress.

[amanda]

wow...I feel soooo much better about the craft crap in my house and feel a little better about giving in completely and letting them just go to town being creative.

Creative sounds better than "making a giant f***ing mess".

[My Kids Mom]

oh lordy- my kids are both like this. We have an "invention table" and piles upon piles of Stuff. The best was the proclamation that he was going to use the broken stuff to make "a broken time machine. You know, that, if it were fixed, could take you to another time!" How do I argue with that?

[Issa]

Wait, so the the word for child hoarder is creative? Good to know. I needed that one, as my oldest does the same thing and I keep calling her a hoarder.

[ramblin red]

OMG, lol. My daughter is like this too. I have several pieces of furniture and window sills that match your rolling pin. She's now 10 and it Does. Not. Stop. 'Cept this year she was one of very few elementary school kids in the district invited to an international sculpture invitational in our city, so there is that. I pray for big fat scholarships to compensate someday.

[Jenny]

Um, you just wrote this about MY six-year-old daughter. Just to prove it, here is a Crapbooking entry I wrote about her when she was 4. Now she has her own camera and makes 6 minute "cooking show" type videos of herself teaching how to make a drum out of a plastic fork, yarn, and some construction/tissue paper. I highly recommend this if your daughter doesn't have a digital camera yet. Tho the digital clutter is also growing out of CONTROL. :) She and Quinlan would be kindred spirits. Thanks for this post.

http://hermanfamdam.blogspot.com/2009/05/scrap-book.html

[Sean LoGrasso]

Kids are so funny! Take a look at the funny cute kid project I'm developing with my nephew, he's almost 6.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanlograsso/cute-kid-project-lawman

[EmJay]

My boy is just like this. We can't keep enough tape, staples and glue in the house for him to connect stuff. Thanks for reminding me what a joy it all is. I have glitter stuck in the grooves of my dining room table that I may never get out. I'm not sure I really ever want them out.

[Jenna]

Hilarious! I find myself hoping that my children will be as creative someday...for better or worse!

Jenna
momofmanyhats.blogspot.com

[Boston Mamas]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Q and L could wreak (even more) collective havoc with either of our craft stashes (or recycling bins). :-)

[The Mommy Therapy]

This is hilarious! I can definitely imagine the frustration that comes along with it, but so fun.

My children all do the same "I can't clean it up all by myself!!" routine when asked to clean their own mess. These are rough lessons to learn....and teach.

[Tia]

Those carrots are awesome! She's a keeper :)

[servo]

This cracks me up and makes me feel so much better! Clearly both of our daughters are kindred spirits. The other morning I woke up to an entire village of ghosts made out of one complete box of kleenex. And I too can never throw anything away that she has deemed 'craft-worthy'.

[Katie]

"the wind how fast" indeed!