Nurturing the Creative Child
Creativity has several definitions. The simplest is this: the production of ideas that are novel and valuable. Everyone, including children, possess some measure of creativity, even if they don’t realise it. Contrary to popular belief, creativity is not always synonymous with high intelligence. Children may be of average intelligence yet highly creative, and sometimes children are profoundly gifted without being exceptionally creative in nature.
Unfortunately many children lose at least some creativity around age five, when they enter the school system and have to adapt to a much more structured way of learning and thinking. It is however good to know that creativity can be nurtured at home. Here are some tried and tested ways:
Spend time outdoors - nature is ever changing, it provides countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, and problem solving
Invent scenarios – this will open up explorations in imaginative role play
Encourage art/music activities – experimenting with various textures, colours, sounds
Make up stories with children, at times with the child as the main character; other times propose moral dilemmas
Support children in their creative endeavours - value their creativity, and help them grow and explore by modelling creativity yourself
Limit screen time - Focusing on a screen is a passive way of learning for children
Unfortunately creativity can also be butchered. This happens:
When projects are done for an extrinsic reward - rewards tend to reduce the quality of children's responses and their flexibility of thought
When there is an expectation of an evaluation - creativity flourishes in a non-evaluative safe environment
When choices and time are restricted – both place undue restraints on the child’s exploration
When the child is under surveillance - hovering over a child has been proven to stifle their creative juices
When competition is promoted – competition causes self-doubt and success (product rather than process) comes to be defined as victory
Children are naturally creative, so as parents our job is simply to provide opportunities to encourage that creativity and then step aside. John Steinbeck wisely said, “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”