Research shows that children who are encouraged to be creative from a young age have an easier time being creative as adults. To foster creativity in your child, you should create a space where they can explore their interests and come up with new ideas. This might mean incorporating art or music into your day-to-day life.
Here are ten tips for teaching children creativity:
1. Let Them Explore
When kids are free to explore the things that catch their interest, they’re more likely to discover something new.
Creativity flourishes when children are able to explore their interests. Creating an environment where your child can follow their passions will help them be more likely to become creative adults.
2. Encourage Self Expression
Sometimes, a child may need a little guidance from you on how to express themselves creatively, but mostly they will enjoy expressing themselves naturally.
Allowing your child to choose what color shirt or pants they want to wear each day is a great way for a kid on the cusp of creativity to start developing those skills.
3. Allow Them to Play Freely
Kids are naturally creative when they’re allowed to play without direction. They’ll come up with their own games and activities, complete with elaborate sets and characters.
Encourage their creativity by letting them play as freely as possible. They’ll be more likely to come up with creative ideas if they’re allowed to play without any guidance.
4. Support Them When They’re Stuck
Sometimes, children need a little support to build their creativity, even if they usually work things out on their own.
If you can’t figure out that last part of the puzzle or help them finish that drawing, let them know that you’ll be there for them until they are able to find an answer themselves.
5. Encourage Hands-On Learning
Creativity is all about experimenting and learning from those experiments–it’s not just about coming up with formal drawings or paintings and expecting those creations to be amazing every time.
Letting your child build something hands-on now and then will build their confidence and enhance their creative minds.
6. Give Them Choices When You Can
Creativity is most fun when you choose what you build or do, not when someone else tells you how to build or what art supplies to use.
Giving your child choices about what they want for dinner, something to wear, etc., will help them build their decision-making skills and be more creative in the long run.
7. Make Art at Home
Arts and crafts activities are great ways to build creativity because they allow children (and adults!) to tinker with different materials until they find something that they like.
Kids need a space where they can safely express themselves. Creating a home studio that is separate from the main living areas will allow your child to be more comfortable in that space, making it more likely that they’ll want to work in it.
8. Provide Creative Toys and Supplies
Sometimes, creativity comes from the simplest of objects. Give your children crayons and paper to come up with their own coloring book, or let them play with building and construction toys to create their own buildings.
Creativity is stimulated by experimenting with new materials, so provide your child with many types of supplies as possible.
9. Quality Time With Your Kids Will Help Them Grow Creatively
You don’t necessarily need to dedicate time each day to creative activities: just building relationships with your child is important because it builds their sense that you’re there for them and care about what they want out of life.
Letting your kid know that you value their input on decisions will help them become more comfortable expressing themselves creatively.
10. Take Creative Breaks
Creativity doesn’t always happen in the “free time” that you give your kid; sometimes, it happens when you’re doing normal things like cooking dinner or getting dressed for the day. E
encouraging your kids to express themselves during times like these will make them more likely to be creative when they sit down to do arts and crafts projects!
All of these tips are important for helping your child to become a creative adult. It’s important to provide them with opportunities to express themselves, as well as support them when they’re stuck.
Showing them that you value their creativity is also key in helping them grow. Making time for creative activities together will help strengthen the bond between you and give your children the opportunity to explore their own creativity. Finally, taking breaks during normal tasks can sometimes lead to the most productive bursts of creativity!
