The indoors can be a great place to create that special grandparent to grandchild connection. From arts & crafts, to reading great books together. Building with construction sets, or facing off in an indoor sports challenge. Cooking treats. Creating a puppet or magic show. And of course, trains! The indoors can be the perfect setting for wonderful, magic moments between child and grandparent. But for ONE thing...
6 Hours every day
That's how much time the average child today spends watching TV, playing videogames, or on the computer.
Let’s face it. Times have changed. For each of the past generations, the amount of time connecting with the outdoors has decreased. In fact, a whopping 50% decline in time spent outdors in the past 20 years.
And, I greatly urge you to make efforts to counter-balance this trend! Make a plan to visit the Outdoors webpage and inspire yourself to get your grandkids re-connected with nature.
It's a cultural fact of modern day life that we will continue to spend the greater portion of our lives indoors. So, do we decide to chalk up all that time as time wasted? Heck no!
We have the power to decide the quality of our indoor experiences. And, like anything that results in a positive reward…the first and only step is to decide to take action.
First off…do a self-assessment.
Where DO you spend YOUR indoor time? Are you modeling behavior you’d wish upon your grandchildren? Do your grandchildren spend too much time in front of the TV?
If so, hide that remote for a little while.
Sure, it may take a little time and patience to overcome the whining. (At first, you may even whine yourself!) But stay strong. Stay true to your convictions. And most of all…..stay positive.
Nagging your kids from the TV, as we all know, has little chance for success. What works is putting your heart in it and showing them how fun you can be. Get down on the floor to play trains. Break out monopoly. Or put on a puppet show. Sing some songs. Do an art project. Teach them to cook your favorite dish. Or read books together. Books are incredible door openers.
Instead of having TV on for background noise…why not try putting in a classical music CD! What a wonderful way to create the mood for any of the indoor play activities listed above.
The “kids” from my generation raised in the 1970’s-1980’s grew up knowing classical music from a very odd source. Do you know where? Bugs Bunny cartoons of course!
Today, I don’t see Bugs Bunny on TV much. Perhaps, you can help reconnect the experience of the classics for todays' generation. Another great option I’ve found for our kids are the Baby Einstein products.
Simple, and yet genius DVDs and music CDs for infants & toddlers that are filmed at their speed & need for stimulation. My boys loved them & despite the occassional criticism you'll hear of any baby-video product...I believe the Baby Einstein videos are mind-enhancing and a positive influence on the development of infants.
You'll be amazed at how it captures their attention. and delight along with their belly laughs. Incredibly simple to adults...yes. Perfect for youngsters! That's why the concept of the Baby Einstein products was such a home run. The great ideas are often the simplest.
Another Disney product that also incorporates classical music are the Little Einstein TV show for toddlers through 5 year olds.
In addition to musical ambiance, why not spruce up your indoors with some incredible art? Or make a wonderful expression to your grandchild through a unique and thoughtful gift of framed art for their own bedroom. For a great deal, click 50% Off Framed Art!
If you have plenty of space indoors (maybe a finished basement)…perhaps you’ve already created a "kids play zone". Just enough room to run & play on those rainy days…or when the adult portion of your family & friends are visiting up in the kitchen. (Like a magnet that kitchen!)
Consider some unique indoor play items like crawl-through tents or even a toddler roller coaster!
Do you have plans for a game room like billiards, darts, hoops, or other great fun? Or if you enjoy the experience of a family movie night, there are some great options today to build your very own movie theater.
Last year, I finished off a section of our basement and installed an overhead projector and picked up a 110” screen. Not only was the project loads of fun, but as a resource to build our family relationship, our very own movie room is fantastic.
Plan a fun “practice” night of camping for your younger grandchildren. Set up real tents indoors and turn on an outdoors soundtrack. Even setup an indoor planetarium to top off the experience!
Want more ideas? It’s easy really. Just listen deeply to both your grandchildren and yourself. By combining the unique elements of each of you...you can come up with great innovative concepts.
What are they interested in?
And, what inspires you?
Then to get creative…Ask “What if?!” questions about connecting these elements.
I'll give you an example. Let’s say your grandchild is into Thomas the tank engine. And, you’re into videography.
Sure, you could default to a couple obvious choices: play trains or watch a Thomas videotape.
But….what if….you made your own Thomas movie? What if….you taught your grandchild how to invent and write a story? What if…you could incorporate 1 or 2 key life lessons for your grandchild within the story? What if…you taught your grandchild how the videocamera worked? What if you learned together how to edit the movies clips? What if you included family members as characters in the story? What if you planned a special movie night to show the extended family the finished project?
Think your grandchild would be touched by that?
Try the “What-If?” technique to get creative. Begin with any two simple ideas, ideally with one that builds from each of your interests. Don’t judge the ideas. Just let them build on each other and see what develops. Give it a try and I guarantee you'll find your own eureka! See the What-If example in the sidebar on how I used this technique with my 5-year old son.
Try it with your grandchildren until you strike an idea together that makes their eyes light up. Then follow through.
Make the indoors a wonderful, magical place.
You can do it. Take back the indoors!
Imagine the possibilities of converting 1/2 of your grandchildrens wasteful TV & videogame time into productive, life-thrilling, mind-enhancing, quality time?!
Three hours per day equates to 1.5 extra months of life each and every year. Is that valuable?
Over a lifetime, this becomes 10 full years of LIFE vs. wasting away in front of the TV.
Imagine the empowerment & impact of such a legacy.
Amazing.
Think it through.
Make a plan & put it into action today!
Below you’ll find plenty of ideas to get started on creating a warm, safe, and inspirational indoor environment…progress towards a lasting legacy.
One day my son and I were brainstorming about something fun to do.
As in the Innovation step on the Create Your Legacy page, a great way to brainstorm is to combine interests.
As a sales & marketing professional, I'm energized by entrepreneurial ideas...new business or product ideas.
My son had recently been watching the movie Ratatouille. A unique story of a rat who has the talent of cooking and how he helps a Parisian restaurant achieve 5 star status. Despite the odd premise, it's a very enjoyable movie.
My son started with "What if we watch Ratatouille?"
(for the seventh time, mind you)
Powerful hint: I didn't say no or critique his idea. I took part of his idea and built on it.
My reply was..."What IF we cooked something and pretended you were Remy" (the rat chef)
Immediately I could see his mind starting to churn...he was connecting, and built further on my idea...even picking up on the tempo of the what-if lead in to a slightly new concept...
"What IF we did it for real, and opened up a restaurant?!"
(Pretty ambitious mind you for an afternoon project...but again, bite your tongue as you feel the "NO" forming in your mind...instead, build again on the new idea...)
"What IF we DID make a pretend restaurant and invited mommy to dinner as a customer?"
His eyes widening..."What IF we invited nana and pops, and mom-mom and pop-pop...?!"
(Seeing this becoming a larger event that may take some good planning and wanting to keep it building...)
"What IF we put together some menu ideas and plan a night for opening the restaurant?"
He then connecting another interest of his..."What IF we had trains at the restaurant?!"
Me: "What IF we had trains decorating the menu too?!"
Son: "What IF we had prices on the menu and I could make some dollars?!"
Smiling inside..."What IF we try to make it so special, our customers give us 5 stars?!"
See how this works?
It's really pretty simple once you get past the human nature of immediate criticism.
Practice this trick the next time you find yourself first thinking "No" to a new idea. The chance to do so will likely happen in the VERY NEXT HOUR or TWO...so be ready.
In this example, we almost ended up watching a movie. In the end, we both had hours of fun spread out over multiple days.
And, I was able to incorporate all sorts of lessons to my son, in a fun, engaging way. We talked about marketing. Choosing products. And we designed the menu together. We planned for tables and chairs. Sent out restuarant invitations. Purchased food together.
And, yes, we even set up a trainset to provide the perfect restaurant ambiance. We put in a classical music CD...and a train DVD in the background.
My son acted as the server, and I helped in the kitchen.
products.