Children work hard on developing their personalities as they learn to interpret the world. They take bits and pieces of what they experience from different places and develop their own sense of who they are in the world. In an effort to help them grow into confident, complex, and well-adjusted adults, one of the best things we parents can do is to give them encouragement and space to explore. Decorating for the holidays is something that is fun to involve our children in, letting them make safe, age-appropriate decisions. Which of the ribbons to use, and how and item should be displayed are bite-sized decisions that children can handle while developing their sense of creativity. For little ones it's best when we give them finite choices, such as "should we use the silver ornaments or the red and white ones?" But as an adult who wants to have a tastefully decorated home, it can sometimes be difficult to let children make decisions that don’t meet the aesthetics we had in mind. And by criticizing their choices, even gently, we could do more damage than if we didn’t let them participate in the first place. Our job as parents is to praise what is good about the design choices that they make and ignore the fact that they just added a pink glittery garland to your elegant Lladro nativity scene. |
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One way for both you and your children to win while encouraging positive development is to give them their own space. Literally. Choose an area, such as a corner of the living room, or perhaps their whole bedroom, and let them go wild with as much decorative creativity as they like. Then you can decorate the family’s primary living space in peace (or at least without pink glittery garlands – unless you’re into those). Most children crave the opportunity to explore their creative side, and will be proud of what they accomplish when they decorate their own space. |
Dr. Maria Montessori, the Italian educator and founder of the Montessori method, taught educators that children develop not only self-confidence but also a sense of competence when they are given the opportunity to be independent and to make their own choices. She showed that providing children with a prepared environment where they can make choices freely helps empower them. |
Numerous child development experts emphasize the significance of allowing children to make their own choices. This approach fosters an overall sense of autonomy, gives them a vehicle to improve problem-solving skills, enhances their self-esteem, and leads to increased motivation and independence. By providing children with age-appropriate opportunities to make choices, parents can play a vital role in nurturing their confidence, creativity, and resilience. |
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Renowned psychologist, Dr. Carol Dweck's research on mindset underscores the importance of believing in one's own ability to learn and grow. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she supports the theory that allowing children to make choices can nurture a positive growth mindset and ultimately a greater sense of free will. |
| So let the kids select the most garish and crazy decorations that they really love, provide them their own defined space to decorate as their imagination allows, and see what they come up with. My son has now mastered the art of looping colored mini lights over thumb tacks, (though it took a couple of years of practice). Maybe what your kids come up with will be something really pretty. Maybe it'll be a mis-matched explosion of creativity or a simple garland holding up all the ornaments you've deemed too loud for the family Christmas tree. But it's their own space and one of which they can be proud. In the process, they will be working on building their character, independence and style! |
This article got a little boost by the research efforts of Google’s AI tool, Gemini. |
