It’s been a while since I’ve written a Tips post so I figure there’s no time like the present. Let’s face it, parents get really stressed about have family portraits done. There’s so much to think about! You have to coordinate clothing and make sure the kids have haircuts. I won’t even mention getting to the location on time. Well, I did mention it, but I could go on. Seriously.
The point is that for parents, it can be a daunting task to even get the kids out of the house to a family portrait session. Then, when you get everyone there, you’ve spent so much time and energy planning the session, the least your kids could do is cooperate, right? This is where I come in. I want you to RELAX. My job is to take over once you’ve gotten everyone there. And here’s how you can make it even easier on yourself. Make it a game and make it fun.
What I mean by making it a game is that you can go two ways when telling the kids about the big family portrait. The first is to say, in a very stern voice, “We are having our pictures taken this Saturday morning and I expect you all to be on your best behavior!” Geez, no pressure there, Mom.
Or, you can use what I call “The Suzanne Family Fun Method”. This is when you mention, in a totally causal way, that you’re really looking forward to hanging out with the family on Saturday. This works best for parents with tweens and teens. If they’re interested in hearing more, they will ask. Now, if you have little ones, let’s say under the age of 10, you would say something like, “Saturday is supposed to be nice. Let’s go to the park and have a picnic and then maybe go for ice cream!” Oh, and by the way, some lady is going to be there with us and take a few photos.
You may get my not-so-subtle hint here that making it into a fun experience will get you far better results. Some people think that not mentioning it at all is the way to go. The thought here is that if you don’t mention it, no one will complain. Personally, I don’t like surprises and I’ve noticed that my kids do much better when I set the expectation ahead of time. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Imagine, for a moment, that you’re thinking about spending a relaxing Saturday morning drinking coffee and reading the paper, but then your spouse springs on you that he or she has decided to take a trip to Ikea or head to your mother-in-law’s. You wouldn’t be too happy. Our kids are not different.
Once they know that a family outing is planned, they have plenty of time to prepare mentally. The key here is telling them how FUN it’s going to be. And giving them a reward, like ice cream, for all their good behavior is just an added bonus. Make it into a game and an opportunity to have fun, semi-structured time with them. You will be so happy with the results!
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My mom voted earlier but she used a different computer than I am on. Is it because we are on the same wireless network?
by Suzanne
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