Julia Cameron - The Artists Way for Parents: Raising Creative Children

Also by Julia Cameron

BOOKS IN THE ARTISTS WAY SERIES

The Artists Way

Walking in This World

Finding Water

The Complete Artists Way

The Artists Way Workbook

The Artists Way Every Day

The Artists Way Morning Pages Journal

The Artists Date Book
(illustrated by Elizabeth Cameron)

Inspirations: Meditations from The Artists Way

OTHER BOOKS ON CREATIVITY

The Prosperous Heart
(with Emma Lively)

The Writing Diet

The Right to Write

The Sound of Paper

The Vein of Gold

How to Avoid Making Art (or Anything Else You Enjoy)
(illustrated by Elizabeth Cameron)

Supplies: A Troubleshooting Guide for Creative Difficulties

The Writers Life: Insights from The Right to Write

The Artists Way at Work
(with Mark Bryan and Catherine Allen)

Money Drunk, Money Sober
(with Mark Bryan)

The Creative Life

PRAYER BOOKS

Answered Prayers

Heart Steps

Blessings

Transitions

Prayers to the Great Creator

BOOKS ON SPIRITUALITY

Safe Journey

Prayers from a Nonbeliever

Letters to a Young Artist

God Is No Laughing Matter

God Is Dog Spelled Backwards
(illustrated by Elizabeth Cameron)

Faith and Will

MEMOIR

Floor Sample: A Creative Memoir

FICTION

Mozarts Ghost

Popcorn: Hollywood Stories

The Dark Room

PLAYS

Public Lives

The Animal in the Trees

Four Roses

Love in the DMZ

Avalon (a musical)

The Medium at Large (a musical)

Magellan (a musical)

POETRY

Prayers for the Little Ones

Prayers to the Nature Spirits

The Quiet Animal

This Earth
(also an album with Tim Wheater)

FEATURE FILM
(as writer-director)

Gods Will

The
ARTISTS WAY
for
PARENTS

RAISING CREATIVE CHILDREN

J ULIA C AMERON

with Emma Lively

JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA), 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014, USA

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Copyright 2013 by Julia Cameron

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions. Published simultaneously in Canada

Most Tarcher/Penguin books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. Special books or book excerpts also can be created to fit specific needs. For details, write Penguin Group (USA) Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cameron, Julia.

The artists way for parents: raising creative children / Julia Cameron with Emma Lively.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-101-61306-1

1. Creative ability in children. 2. Child rearing. I. Lively, Emma. II. Title.

BF723.C7C36 2013 2013009654

155.41335dc23

Some names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

The Artists Way for Parents

is dedicated to

Dorothy and James Cameron

and

Martha and Robert Lively,

who raised creative children.

Parenting is a great adventure. Awakening your childs sense of curiosity and wonder helps you reawaken your own. Reawakening your own sense of curiosity and wonder helps you awaken your childs.

J ULIA C AMERON

Looking up from my Morning Pages into my daughter Serafinas eyes, I am amazed. She gleefully discovered peekaboo today, grabbing the wet cloth I was using to wipe away the orange smears of squash on her face. Grinning wildly, she shrieked, fixing me with her giant baby-blue eyes, pausing to see what I would do next. There you are! I cheered. Again, she held the cloth over her face and then, bursting into peals of laughter, she peeked out proud and happy. I loved itscrawling the scene into my journal that has become a glorious chronicle of Serafinas many firsts.

To see her eyes sparkle as she plays is pure delight. They speak volumes, often quite serious, unwavering, brewinggiving me the business I call it. These are the moments when I think of my mother, Julia. My mother can deliver that same look, announcing, I am a mother who would! The words and the glare full of all the promise and threat implied. Fierce, formidable, and very creativebeing on the receiving end of the business is not for the faint of heart. This daring streak, combined with my mothers tenacity and ingenuity, has made her one of my greatest teachers and champions.

This very book is a prime examplea giftfor me and others who are looking to nurture our children and ourselves. In my better moments as a new mom, finding my way through Serafinas first year, I am discovering who my daughter is and learning who I am as her mother. I am discovering the space between the idea of the mother I should be and the mother I actually amthe mother whom Serafina needs me to be. Then there are those moments I find myself wondering and worrying, as I am apt to do. Am I a good mom? Is this enough? Am I enough? And, Am I doing it right enough?

Again, I think of my mom. Twenty-five years ago, she asked me if I thought she was a good mom. At eleven years old, I piped up, You are a FUN mom! I did not see good and fun as mutually exclusive. A serious child, I needed fun. My mother recognized I needed our adventuresroller-skating around the apartment, driving cross-country, or jumping horses. I needed the opportunity she gave me to be a kid, bravely exploring and enjoying life. Now, I see how so many of my mothers choices were based on what I needed. She did her utmost to provide opportunities for me to grow into who I amnot just grow up.