How You Can Adapt Your Child’s Love of Crafts to Adulthood

Children can make any home warm and welcoming. Their innocence and endless imagination can make for some interesting stories and creations as well. If you have an imaginative and creative child, here are some of the ways in which you can adapt their love of crafts to adulthood as they grow and keep them endlessly inspired.

Reinvent an Unused Space for Their Craft of Choice

If you’ve noticed that your child favors a certain craft, take advantage of any unused spaces in your house to create a room for them to enjoy working in. If your house is one of the 63% of all occupied housing units which, according to the United States Department of Energy, has a carport or a garage, this is a potential space to convert into a crafting room. Even if you park the car in it, you can rearrange the garage so it has room for a small crafting area. It is important to consider that as your child grows, the space in which they create will have to as well. Add storage for the crafting materials that your child needs to help them stay organized. This may also help resolve any issues about toys and crafting supplies being strewn throughout the house.

Surprise Them with Crafting Gifts

For their birthdays and other special occasions, you could shop for crafting gifts and supplies. Find out what they need, if anything, and get it for them as a functional gift that can help inspire them. Alternatively, surprise them with a shopping spree at their favorite crafts supplies store and allow them to pick items within a certain price limit. You could let them know about your plan in advance so they have the time to compile a list of what they really need. Find items that are suited for their age and try to keep them within a budget. This can help prepare them for budgeting for themselves later on in life.

Take On a DIY Home Improvement Project Together

If you have a home improvement project that you’ve been thinking of tackling yourself, it’s a good idea to involve your craft-loving child in it. This will be especially welcoming for them if it’s an activity that they participate in and contribute to, such as painting, building furniture, or organizing materials. Get the supplies that you need ready and plan on how you will work, allocating them tasks they can handle. Fix your budget, keeping in mind that the typical homeowner has plans to spend over $10,000 on renovating their home. This should give you a rough idea of how much to spend on the project so that you have enough left for future projects and vacations that you can get to down the road.

Start a Family Crafting Tradition

Finally, you could start a family tradition that’s based on your child’s favorite activity. To make it more fun, you could set a seasonal theme to it and do something each new season. This will give them something to look forward to multiple times throughout the year and even as they grow up it will be an event that holds a special place in their heart. In the United States, between 40% and 50% of marriages end in divorce, and having a solid tradition that your child is familiar with is a great way to provide them with some form of stability, even in the event of a divorce. Play an active role in this tradition so that your child has something to look forward to that allows you to actively spend time together.

In the ways outlined above, you can adapt your child’s love of crafts to adulthood. You will find satisfaction in the time you spend together doing something that your child loves, and over time, you may also grow to love it yourself!