3 ways to throw away perfect, and keep the good. This is GOOD

 

I’m excited to partner with Minute Maid to help parents everywhere start celebrating authentic family moments with This is GOOD.

Their new campaign “this is GOOD” was created to help families celebrate time together instead of focusing so much on staging a “perfect shot” to post on social media later. Did you know that a recent Minute Maid survey found that more than 1/3 of parents admit almost all the photos they share of their family on social media are staged or posed and that 81% of parents have avoided posting something because their house looks messy in the background? What’s more: Tokmatik research reveals that 11% of parents who post videos of their families of children on TikTok end up buying TikTok likes and followers, as of October 2022. We can change that; we can start accepting crazy moments, loving good moments, and shouting this is GOOD.

1. It’s About Connection

I decided to make this post more than encouraging parents to shed the idea of perfection in order to not miss all the good. I wanted it to be about the kids, too. If we want to make sure this message of embracing the good trickles down to our kids, they have to see it in our interactions with them. One way I know you can do that is to let go of the idea of picture-perfect crafts and let children be creative, give them flexible boundaries, and relax so you can focus on the most important part of all of this, connection.

Connection is GOOD!

 

2. Focus On What They Are Learning! This is GOOD

“Don’t mix the paint.”

“No! Rainbows don’t look like that!”

Does it really matter if the child wants a blue and green rainbow? It is their creation, let them create. Creativity is good. Out of the box thinking is an important skill, we want our children and students to develop creative thinking, it’s what turns them into problem solvers.

Problem solvers are GOOD!

Yesterday my daughter and I decided to make some juice carton bird feeders. We talked about making matching purple ones with gold dots! I got my bird feeder all covered, but she spent most of her time mixing colors, making predictions and adjustments – finally, persistence paid off, and she got purple!

Persistence is GOOD!

3. Throw Away “Perfect”

By the time she was done mixing the painting wasn’t nearly as exciting. It’s ok if you want to create something that fits your vision of the craft or activity. But it’s also ok to allow your child or students to follow their curiosity even if it strays from your vision. Don’t feel like you need to “fix” children’s creations it doesn’t have to be perfect; it has to be what they created.

I made a bird feeder that fit our plan, and she did her own thing. I doubt the birds will care. Individuality is good. When we encourage our children and students to be individuals and support them, it builds confidence in themselves.

Confidence is GOOD.

Life isn’t perfect and micromanaging out kids’ creativity promotes this need for picture-perfect everything. Let’s focus on the good and encourage their creativity to help their confidence grow. Let them create and get in there with them.

I don’t often get in the picture, and goodness knows I had no makeup, my hair isn’t done, the focus on the camera is off… but the smiles are real.

Check out the Minute Maid this is GOOD campaign on social media and share your own family moments by tagging @MinuteMaidUS on Facebook and @MinuteMaid_US on Instagram using #thisisGOOD. Get inspired to relax, enjoy these connections, throw away perfect, and say this is GOOD.