Creative Kids: My Little Director

A

I’ve got an only child on my hands. Since I cannot birth more she will remain only. I think she’s pretty happy about that. She doesn’t like little kids or them touching her things. All for the best I suppose. Although, she still has to deal with G from time to time; which I am made aware is at her sufferance.

Ava is 10 (almost 11) and she is as tall as I am (I’m 5’3). She started puberty at 8 (so not fair!). Luckily, she does not yet act like a tween, likely because I’ve limited her exposure to things above her age range, and I will fight it tooth and nail.

She still loves her “LPS” aka Littlest Pet Shops. Now to be clear….she does not like the new ones in the stores or the cartoon, she only likes the older versions. Which, of course, can only be found on eBay. She is a very creative child. She makes music videos and a tv ‘series’ with her LPS as the stars and posts them on her very own YouTube channel. When she gets new subscribers she is just so pleased. *hint*

Currently she is playing "LPS" with her BFF

What started this? Something Ava found on YouTube a while back, a "series" called "LPS Popular." She got so into it she would get mad at the characters, and cry. The characters on this little show are so famous among LPS collectors that the particular toy used to play the character is referenced as that character when sold on eBay..and it is expensive. Such is the power of YouTube!

Ava is so creative that she customizes her LPS. She makes clothes for them. When they have been mermaids she has made tails for them out of duct tape or fabric. (This was during her mermaid obsession phase brought on by the Australian show H2O: Just add water).

She uses nail polish, paint, sharpies, glitter, sculpy, and whatever else she can find to make these toys look just right. Then she has to get out the q tips and nail polish remover to start over....and some of them look pretty rough now.

It's hard to estimate how many of these little figures she has now. Well over 100 I would say. Every new one is special and precious to her ..for a while. She will expound upon the great virtues each new LPS possesses for an hour or more. 

Ava: "Isn't she beautiful mom?" 

This is to promote her YouTube Channel

Me: "Yes, she has pretty ears"
Ava: "Look at her eyes! I love the star!"

Me: "Yes, very cool eyes"

And so on....and on....

Really I've been surprised at how long she's been faithful to these toys. Most kids go through fads with toys, but not her. It's been 3 or 4 years and her obsession hasn't waned. She can get so loud playing with them in her room I can hear her downstairs. 

Ava also makes pictures with them:

She started making videos with her iPod that she got for her birthday a couple years ago. For Christmas she got a tablet so she will use that now. She hasn't published any new ones in a while. She may be developing some self doubt about her skills. Or it could be writer's block. She's told me on many occasions that she can't play because she doesn't "have any ideas". 

Her dad and I encourage her as much as possible. She has recently started writing her ideas down in a journal in little 'scripts'. Who knows? One day she could be a director!

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This is a good lead in to discuss ‘Keeping my kid safe on the net’. I use a Microsoft program called Family Safety. It provides me with the option to limit what content she can access on the Net. I can also set time limits and it sends a report at the end of the week about where she’s been and how long she spends online each day. Pretty nifty. As she gets older the parameters will change but it works for now.

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