Let the Children Have Art

When I became a mom, I did what I usually do to gain more understanding: I read books. I read parenting books recommended by friends and mentors and experts. The lessons I learned in the weeks after my first child was born--that I had zero control over this tiny human, that I wouldn't always be able to make things better, and that we would be okay (mostly okay?) anyway--weren't addressed in the parenting books I read.

A few years later, when I finally realized I should ignore all of the parenting formulas because they only made me feel like a terrible parent, I threw all of our parenting books in the trash.

Now my daughter is 18 years old and a freshman in college, and my son is a 16-year-old junior in high school. Parenting is easier for me now because I'm more comfortable with learning on the go, I’m better at going with the flow, and I’m able to trust my instincts. And now I know what I need to survive the hard parts and what to offer my kids to help them survive their hard parts. I need to have art in my life. And I need to let my kids have art, too.

Helping my kids engage with art has been an effective parenting strategy for me since my kids were little. I believe art is important because art helps us belong to ourselves, others, and the world around us. So, it made sense for me to put my kids in the way of visual art, music, films, books, and more to enhance their emotional, relational, mental, and spiritual development. When I offer my children art, I can give them more than I’m able to provide on my own.

Parenting with art welcomes children to a table of abundance that parents aren't required to prepare and serve on their own. Kids receive a more decadent feast when artists, musicians, actors, and writers pull up their own chairs and join parents and other caregivers in the work of meeting their children's needs, stirring their desires, and satisfying their curiosities.

I’m currently writing a book about parenting with art and hope to query agents in the summer of 2022. I haven’t written much about parenting until now because it’s been super important to me for my kids to know my relationship with them isn’t going to be splashed all over the internet or social media or written about in ways that don’t honor their stories or them as unique individuals made in the image of God. It’s simple, really: My kids don’t exist to serve my writing career. But this is a book I believe I’m called to write, and I look forward to sharing it with readers in the next few years.

*Image of a child looking at art by Andrea G via Unsplash.