Fruitful Planning: Cut, Paste, and Daydream
When was the last time you talked with your child about the possibility of visiting the zoo? Do you and your partner discuss plans for dream vacations or home improvements? How to budget your raises to get what you want, or how you’d like to spend the next holiday?
Family daydream sessions are important because they can build a family vision. A shared family vision has the potential to bring unity and a sense of belonging to family discussions and activities.
Family daydreams are also one of the first times young children are exposed to the idea of setting goals, which can become an important predictor of success as they reach their middle-school and teen years.
However, young children might have a hard time following the conversation. Parents can make it more real by creating a family vision board with pictures of things the family is working toward, and children can have fun participating in the process.
How to Build a Vision Board Templates
If your family is super tech-savvy and your children are a little older, a Pinterest board might be a fun way to get everyone talking. To make this work, the family could sit down together, suggest one or two board ideas each, and then search and pin ideas together. Boards could be shared for collaboration so family members who are old enough for their own accounts can add to them.
For families with younger children, a real display board in the dining room or family room might be fun. A simple poster board could work, but you could also get fancy with something like the Displays2Go Enclosed Cork Board with a locking door. This might be important if you want something that will stay nice and that you can change out periodically.
If you’re going with a physical vision board, take some time to find and print pictures of things everyone likes from the internet, or get a stack of old magazines from the local used book store. As you go through the pictures, choose the ones that best represent your shared daydreams, and pin them to your vision board.
What to Include on a Vision Board
Everyone in the family should have a spot on the vision board. This helps children to see that even adults have things they want and that it’s okay for everyone to want something different. There should also be some shared items, such as that zoo trip or a Disney cruise.
It’s also important to remember the pets in the family. Adding something like Melior’s pretty plush pet bed or the Dexter leash and collar set to the vision board will help children develop compassion for their favorite animals and a sense of responsibility to take care of them.
When to Change your Inspiration Board
The best time to revamp your family vision board is when you accomplish something together. Instead of throwing out the picture of your achieved vision, add it to a scrapbook, and then replace it with something new. This will allow your children to celebrate successes with the entire family, and it can keep your family motivated to work toward common goals.
