How Does Your Creative Work Benefit Your Kids?

Do you feel guilty working on your creative hobbies because it takes time away from family time? You shouldn’t! It’s important to recognize that while your creative work gives you enjoyment it also sets a great example for your kids. Here are a few benefits I have noticed in my own creative life.

You are Modeling an Active Hobby

In the age of screen time, sometimes it’s hard to compete with Netflix or video games. When a parent picks up a paint brush or starts carving wood, kids see other options for free time activities. They will see you put your Google News down and fully engage in something just for fun, and they may want to join you. They paint along side you, or you can teach them how to help you sand the finished wood carving. Sometimes it’s a hassle to have a helper, but they will always remember the time they spent helping you. It may pay off in having a project buddy in the future.

Even if you are welding and it’s not the type of projects where kids could join you, just watching a parent prioritize, plan and work is excellent modeling that life is more important than screen time.

You are Showing Your Kids that Creativity is Important, Even if it’s “Just a Hobby”

You may say that your work isn’t important because you don’t sell your paintings, or maybe your welded sculptures are just for your own pleasure. Don’t discount the value of modeling a hobby that you take love! Kids will see you making something beautiful just because it’s fun and rewarding. They will learn that you value creativity and bring that with them into their own life. Parents who create show life is bigger than bare bones productivity. It’s okay to play with art and try something new.

You are Modeling Life Balance

It’s important to see that Mom or Dad doesn’t just go to work, wash the laundry, and make dinner. You make time to express yourself. You have a piece of your life that’s just for you. I want my kids to learn that sometimes I have my own projects separate from being a mom. I pick up my paint brushes even though there’s laundry in the hamper that needs to be washed and work emails that need to be answered. That’s a life lesson about work life balance I want them to observe.

They See You Plan and Complete Projects

As you chug along with your novel or queen-sized quilt, they will see you working toward a personal creative goal. They will see you start and stop and start again. You can tell them about your progress at the dining room table.

When it’s finally complete, it will be a model for them of creative living and the fact that consistency is more important than one day’s work.

I have seen my kids start writing their own chapter books or plotting out their own sewing projects because my creative pursuits showed them that real people write books and make quilts.

It helps them know they can plot out their own big project and get it done.

Your Creative Pursuits are a Model of Creative Living

There’s no reason to feel guilty. Your creative work is fueling your soul and making you a better parent. You get to have a part of life that’s just for you and express yourself creatively.

It’s important for your children to see that.

Have fun creating and it will show what you value. It will model what you consider good living. What a great example you are setting for your children!