It is one of the most important skills that we don’t necessarily pay attention to. Creativity can be so important for every single one of us. The fact is that there are many benefits of being creative that we can all utilize. And this is why it’s a good idea to remember that our children can benefit from a wide variety of skills, not least creativity. Because if our children start to harness creativity in all its forms, this doesn’t just mean a better life and more fulfillment, but it can also help them in an academic sense. The fact is that creativity is one of those things that helps our children and ourselves use different parts of the brain. So if you are trying to think of ways to get your children to be more creative and support them, here are some things to bear in mind.
Help Them Pursue Their Passions
Very simply, if you want your children to be more creative you need to help them pursue the things they are really interested in. Pay attention to your child’s interests and then make these materials and activities available. For example, if your child is interested in imagery and they like to draw, you can give them an abundance of crayons and paper so they can create images, but it’s also important to start thinking about moving images and using things in the real world.
If your child has an interest in creating stories with Lego you can easily help them to video stories and use Lego as a stop-motion movie. But you can also go one step further and help them to capture amazing images. The next time you go on vacation, you may want to consider getting a drone such as the DJI Mini 3 and use this to help your kids capture sweeping panoramic views on camera. When you start to look at the things they are interested in, all you need to do is to provide more tools.
If you have a nanny or user a babysitter, talk to them about how they can also support your child’s creativity. Discuss your child’s creative inclinations with your childminder to give them some specific pointers – any good nanny will be able to do help your child become more creative. You can use a service like Koru Kids to find a professional nanny that will not only look after your child, but also encourage their creativity.
Create a Creative Space
Some people can only be creative in a certain environment. If your children are a bit older and they are looking like they’re losing their creative spark it’s important for you to set up a creative space that allows them to open themselves up. When it comes to designing a creative space, you don’t need to overthink it. A spare space that gives them some solitude to create the things they want can be all they need.
You could easily set up a creative space in their bedroom, but it depends on the media they use. If they use a lot of paint, you naturally have to protect the walls and the flooring! But this could be the perfect opportunity for a creative space for the entire household. A garden shed can be ideal to set up your own little workshop for the family.
Provide Unstructured Time
Creativity knows no boundaries! As important as unstructured play is for children, unstructured time for creativity allows your children to just get into the habit of playing. Children play freely without any time limits, and the same should be said of creativity.
A lot of people feel the need to be creative with a deadline in mind, but it’s always worth remembering the saying – “paintings are never finished, merely abandoned.” And that unstructured time for your children to create whatever they want can be the perfect chance to get to grips with something they’ve had an interest in, but have not been able to harness.
Help Them Activate Their Senses
Creativity is as much about getting inspired as it is about the act of creating. When our children are showing signs that they want to expand their creative skillset, this is when you need to provide as diverse a canvas as possible for inspiring your children. Inspiration takes many forms; some kids can benefit from listening to more music that will help them to appreciate different styles or get an understanding of what else is out there. But it’s important to remember that, when we’re talking about inspiration, you don’t have to just stick to one type of art form. Some of the best literature is inspired by music and vice versa. If you are interested in painting, you could paint to a certain piece of music and let it stimulate something different.
It’s also important to start integrating certain habits within their lives that can support the idea of creativity. You can easily get into the habit of taking your children to the library or museum so they are exposed to different mediums. The fact is that this is the most exciting part of helping your child to become more creative because you have no limits! As we start to bring about creativity and think about what it takes to help our children to think outside the box, it is all about giving them a variety of inspiration and just letting them roll with it!
Talk About Creativity
Creativity is something that we can take for granted. Some people don’t have a creative bone in their body (or so they would say), and it’s important that, when you are starting your children on a journey to being more creative, you’ve got to ask them about the times when they feel more creative. It could be when they are at their most relaxed, or it could be that inspiration strikes at the strangest of times. Creativity is something that knows no boundaries. There are many writers that talk about creativity as something that needs to be harnessed and worked on between the hours of 9 and 5. For example, the writer James Elmore Leonard would write for two hours every day before he started work as a bank clerk.
Whatever your child’s approach to creativity, it’s important that you discuss it. It’s always worth asking your children when they come up with their best ideas because if they are in the middle of doing something else, taking notes is one of the best things we can all do. You can easily have the Notepad app on your phone or a pen and paper, and when you are having this discussion, it’s important to remember that your children may forget ideas. You can easily get into the mindset of thinking that if the idea is good enough, it will stay in your brain, but as amazing as our children’s memories are, getting into the habit of jotting down any little thought can be beneficial, just as long as it’s in the right context. This is why it’s important to have an app or something discreet, especially if inspiration strikes in the least suitable circumstances.
Link Creativity With Problem-Solving
Creativity is not just about writing and painting. The fact is that creativity is something that can be inherently linked with things in the real world. So many people talk about creativity as something that’s just not useful in many sectors, and this can be why many teachers don’t encourage creativity as children get older. If you’ve got a teenager who is constantly concerned about what their peers think about them and don’t like the idea of creativity in the traditional sense, you can start to link creativity with other real-life problems.
Creativity is inherently linked with creative critical thinking, and this is where things like mind mapping can be so beneficial. Because if your child is being bullied by someone in school, it can be so easy for them to retreat into themselves. Instead, you can cultivate creative thinking to help them problem solve. When they start to brainstorm ideas or help them start to make notes on a certain situation, they can be better armed with a solution if this problem arises again. It’s important for us all to remember that when we talk about creativity, it’s not just to do with painting or music, but the most creative people are those that have had to fight wars or negotiate difficult business dealings. We must remember that, as parents, we set the example for our kids to follow.
When we are looking to help our children be more creative, we know this is going to benefit them in the long run, but we have to remember that children have an innate ability to be creative when they are by themselves and can play freely. You may think that being creative is something that will benefit your child, but you have to remember not to force it. This means you shouldn’t hover over your kids. Instead, think about what you would want. Children of any age will learn by playing whatever the definition of playing is for them, and this is how children can develop moral sensibilities or critical thinking skills.
We must remember that our children’s creative abilities are going to change over time, and as your children get older, you may see how the seeds of creativity have started them on a completely different journey. Whether they are an artist or not, you can always support your children’s creativity.
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