Children can sometimes be detached from the surrounding environment; can have their head in the clouds, and may also use unconventional techniques to overcome the hurdles of life. If your children engage in such behavior on a regular basis, there’s a good chance that you are parenting a strong-willed child or a dreamer. Hakuna Matata everyone! It is not a bad thing to have a dreamer around if you can figure out as how to streamline the child’s creativity and prepare him/her for the near future. To be fair to these children, they are a good bunch of imaginative, lovable and self willed creatures who are generally misunderstood. Not anymore!

Characteristics of imaginative teens

• Their life doesn’t revolve around deadlines, thus lacking visible order and structure.
• They are non-conformists because they see the world in a different light. Understanding the fact that you are raising a spirited child will ease your misery to a great extent.
• These children hear what they want to hear and for this reason they are perceived to be mischievous, when in fact they exercise selective hearing to concentrate on the task at hand.
• Creative children have busy minds that mostly remain distracted by hundreds of thoughts.
• Dreamers have a complex personality because they imagine the good and the worst of life in adequate detail. This doesn’t imply even slightly that they are not fun to hand around with.
   

Tips for parenting dreamers

Creative brainstorming solutions: When trying to make an imaginative child understand the things that you want him/her to understand, it is a good choice to use images to get your point across. These kids understand the world through visuals and mostly remember what they see, rather than what they hear. Teaching them something in a flexible manner will make them take interest in the subject at hand.

Time is money: Losing track of time is one thing and lacking the concept of time is another. It is important to teach time-management to children belonging to the latter category and appreciate them when they do learn a few new tricks.

Every choice they make: Dreamers are meant to make mistakes while they are exploring the world around them. Parents who are practical in their outlook towards life will not tolerate these mistakes when in fact they should be taking it easy. It is not difficult to teach dreamers the right and wrong of things but it will be very difficult for anyone to return the lost time that the kids might miss out on just because a parent was a bit stuck-up.

Sweet classroom dreams: A dreamer in a classroom is an ardent supporter of learning through fun activities. It is unlikely that they will follow any regimented rules or succumb to the pressure of being disciplined by teachers by application of conventional means. A dreamer student will only respond to the calls of a dreamer teacher.

Avoid using the time-out method: The concept of time-out doesn’t work for children with a wild imagination as eventually they will find something to play with or think about. Be as imaginative as a parent to find the Achilles’ heel of your kids and deal with them accordingly.