6 Secrets To Foster Creativity In Your Kids!
01-06-2019 | Posted By: Rajni Joshi | 2189 View(s)
Many parents think that creativity is an inborn talent, but actually, it is more skill than innate talent and this is why you should know these secrets to foster creativity in your kids. All children are not equally intelligent. Similarly, all children are not equally creative! Do not expect your child to develop this skill on their own, you as a parent can do so much to foster their creativity. Children are natural innovators with powerful imagination! You’ll be surprised to know that a study shows that kids’ imaginations helped them cope better with pain. Creativity does not only mean drawing or sketching, but creativity also stretches far beyond all this. A child’s creativity starts with their method of problem-solving and thinking. Day to day challenges to expand their understanding of the world and reasoning along with an encouraging setting allows for a child to become more confident about their opinions and views.
Unfortunately, many parents do not give attention to their child’s creativity. Maybe they feel it’s not that important, or it’s of no use! But it’s completely wrong! The act of overparenting dampens or even wipes out that skill of creativity sometimes. Parenting involves so many tasks and developing creativity is one of those critical tasks! Entirely depending on the school or maybe the art tuition is not what we are saying! If you want your kid to be creative, you have to make certain easy but necessary efforts for the same.
How to Foster creativity in your Kids?
1. Give Freedom to Explore their Ideas:
“I’m giving you a sheet of paper, and you just have to draw a flower on it and colour the petals with red and leaves with green colour”. So, did you see any scope for creativity here? You are being so bossy here and not giving your child the freedom and autonomy to explore their ideas. That is just an example if you are guiding them the particular tasks to do then what are they going to explore or in what ways are they adding their creativity to that task? There’s no scope for that, right? Instead of restricting them with what you want, give them the chance to use their imaginations and ideas. In the situation mentioned above, we could have given them the sheet asking to draw whatever they want or feel like drawing. Also, why restricting their creativity with red and green colours? Ask them to do it the way they want! Tell them you are there if they need any help but don’t be bossy all the time. Even allowing your child to make simple choices, such as what to eat for dinner or where to go on a weekend can also encourage them to think independently, an essential aspect of creativity.
Brainstorm different uses for items with your kids. Like, a cardboard tube can be a telescope, tower or even a person? You can validate all your children’s ideas, praising them for such an impressive imagination.
A study suggests, making your kids colour within the lines can reduce flexibility in thinking. You would never want that to happen with your child, right? So, let us just stop being so bossy all the time and give Your child the freedom to explore, express and create!
2. Designate some Space for Creating:
Well, this does not mean to make a fancy playroom for them! It just suggests to give them some space, maybe a tiny corner with a sack of LEGOs or a box full of old clothes for playing dress-up or something like that. It might sound strange, but it has been observed that creativity flourishes in the most cramped spaces. You don’t have to be rich to develop or foster creativity in your child; you just have to be a bit careful and of course aware of the ways and secrets of developing creativity in your kids.
3. Provide resources for Creative Expression:
Other than space, you should give them the resources they need for creative expression or for expressing their creativity. The key resource here is time! Your kids need a lot of time for unstructured, imaginative or child-directed play. You do not have to give them a lot of commercial stuff for doing so. You can provide items in your child’s environment to stimulate their imagination. You can have some art supplies, costume components, building materials or cheap cameras to encourage their creativity. Do not hesitate to give a gift suggestion for your kids when someone asks you! All this can contribute to elaborate dramatic play schemes.
4. Keep it Simple:
Just like you don’t have to make any fancy playroom, you don’t need the latest and greatest toys either. Keep the games simple and easy. Why do you have to choose the tough things all the time? Begin with the easy and simple games, be patient and allow them to learn and express as per their pace of learning.
5. Ask Your Child some open-ended Questions
You can ask your child some open-ended questions to stretch their understanding and help them to postulate ideas. You can ask your child” what if questions” to enable them to think and answer on their own. Ask them some questions like “What if you could fly?” “What if the electricity is free?” or ‘”What if you were a superhero”?
You can also ask them questions about figuring out ways to improve something. “How can we make the ball bounce higher”? “What all can we do to make your bedroom more beautiful”?
You can also tell them stories or even build stories where you are asking your child for some solution at the end. Try to engage them in storytelling. You can start one and take turns building upon it. Doing so can help your child think freely and independently, your child can come up with many answers. Don’t say “No” to every answer even if they are incorrect, motivate them by saying “yes you are close to the answer, go ahead and try to think more”.
6. Play with your Child:
Playing with your kids is very important as you don’t only spend time with your child, but you are creating that friendly relationship between you two. Work and play together to establish dramatic play scenarios, using substitute items for props when needed. Pretend play allows kids to imagine life from a different side and perspective, which is also a major building block of creativity.
Are you ready to try out these ways to foster creativity in your kids? These are some of the secrets to foster creativity in your kids. Most importantly, you just have to be patient, and you can make all the efforts to make your child even more creative. Do not completely depend upon the school; parents have an immense role in fostering the creativity in their kids. Rather than ordering them what to do, ask them for their suggestions ideas and opinions. Ask them “what if” questions frequently so that they can think and select the best answer out of it. Do not be bossy all the time!
We understand you want your child to listen to you, but you should also give them the freedom they need so that they can explore different ideas. Be patient and let your child explore, express and create! Happy parenting!
