Comments on: Creating a Vision Board with Your Kids

By: Dr. Vicki Panaccione

Dr. Vicki Panaccione — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:50:40 +0000

There are many ways to create dream boards. I agree that, particularly for kids, using visual images are best. Thank you for writing in. Enjoy your kids!

By: Pinoy Leonardo

Pinoy Leonardo — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:23:27 +0000

I wrote about dreamboard recently and did the exercise in a playful manner with my three year old daughter. She liked doing what I did so I got her involved. We wrote our goals in mini white boards. I wrote for her. I like the idea of photo collage as board. Would be more kid appropriate.

By: Dr. Vicki Panaccione

Dr. Vicki Panaccione — Mon, 30 May 2011 01:32:20 +0000

While I agree with what you offer as the benefits of writing, there are limitations, as well. Many children view writing as “work” and may actually be less inclined to “dream” if it means having to write them down. Additionally, visual images are very powerful training tools for the brain. So, I think that using visual images, either from magazines or hand-drawn are very important to use in creating dream boards. This isn’t an either/or situation, by any means. If kids are going to write their dreams, I would encourage them to read over them often, again to train the brain into believing certain things are possible…even probable. And whether kids express their dreams by writing in journals or via dream boards, I think they should be entitled to keep them as private as they may desire. Just because they are posting images, does not mean they have to be for the world to see. As long as they are getting visual glimpses on a regular basis, that’s all that’s really important. I totally agree that no one—child or adult—should be held back in what they put on their boards because of the possibility of being seen by others. There are many adults who have very private dreams and desires regarding intimacy, for example, who may wish to keep these images from on-lookers. Yet, if those images are important —by all means, include them and make that dream board for “your eyes only!”

By: Beth P Karnes

Beth P Karnes — Thu, 05 May 2011 06:48:22 +0000

I love the vision board idea! I talked to Resa S. Brown, author of The Call To Brilliance, about this topic after her recent lecture. She mentioned that writing while using “I” statements can help children find their inner brilliance, or true gifts. I asked her what she thought about encouraging children to use visual communications (creating vision boards or custom videos) as an alternative to writing, and we shared a few concerns. Writing can be a very private way of expressing and envisioning oneself, while posting images is more public, therefore children may begin to market themselves rather than explore and express their true vision. Parents may want to be mindful of what magazines they have laying around the house, because stereotypes commonly represented in magazines can shift children’s preferences and self image. These are great topics to discuss while making a vision board (or video) with older kids. Mixing in words, phrases, drawings, and original photographs may help keep it genuine. The act of creating original content seems to be consistently good for kids! Thank you for the inspiration! Beth Karnes