Sometimes, imperfection moves people more. — The power of 'white space' my eldest son taught me.

This happened when my eldest son was in second grade.
Back in Japan after a long time, we decided to try entering an art competition.

It was a competition with tens of thousands of entries, large enough to have advertisements in national newspapers.

“The act of challenging ourselves is an event in itself.”
That was our family style.
So, we entered with a light heart.

My eldest son was excited to be back in Japan after three years and to be entering an art competition again.

The painting, which depicted his dream, was very free-spirited, and I remember thinking, “This is wonderful,” as I submitted it.

Our family motto is to let children draw freely and expansively.

That’s why, even then, I didn’t “check” my child’s painting.
Little did I know that this would lead to an unexpected turn of events—.

To my surprise, my eldest son’s work was chosen as one of the six national grand prize winners.

We were invited to the awards ceremony held in Shizuoka Prefecture.

At the venue, my son’s painting was reverently displayed in a frame.

“Wow, it’s displayed so beautifully, I’m so happy!”
Our family looked at the painting intently with such happiness.

And then—I gasped.
There was a white part in a section of the painting where no paint had been applied.

When I asked, “What happened here?”
My son replied, “Oh, I forgot to paint that part.”

With other families who had won awards around us, I couldn't help but say, “Don’t say that so loudly!”

Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed that he had won an award despite making a mistake.

But at the awards ceremony that followed, the judge said this:

—That this part, where he intentionally left the paint off, was shining within the whole piece.

That white part I thought he had forgotten to paint
was actually creating “light” in the painting.

In that moment, I realized.

The judge had found charm in that “imperfect part.”

Even if it isn't perfect, there are things that can reach people's hearts.

Perhaps it is precisely this 'white space' that expands the viewer's imagination and moves their heart.

This experience gently melted the standard of 'perfection' that had remained within me.


Since then, I have come to think even more about the 'white space' that creates comfort between parent and child.

Even before that, I had always been doing 'imperfect parenting'.

But I feel that the 'unpainted white' from that day
taught me that those choices were 'not wrong'.

The more you let go of perfection, the more you can see.
Both within your child, and within yourself.

→ I wrote this article with those thoughts in mind.

I will continue to deliver 'growth-potential parenting' that nurtures intelligence to you, who want 'everything' for your parent-child happiness!