Child in glasses reading book near bookshelf, showing playful learning and Zero Tolerance stifling Creativity approach.

6 ways to foster your Kid’s Creativity

Firstly, we are here to provide relevant clarifications and share colourful tips that inspire creativity. Secondly, encouraging children’s imagination through supportive activities helps them develop confidence, resilience, and problem-solving skills more effectively. Thirdly, parents who nurture creativity at home foster curiosity and strengthen emotional intelligence in their children’s daily experiences. Moreover, incorporating playful learning opportunities enables children to connect ideas and explore their surroundings with excitement. Ultimately, these clarifications and tips empower families to create environments where children’s creativity flourishes naturally.

Zero Tolerance stifling Creativity: Rethinking What True Creativity Really Means

Contrary to common belief, creativity does not mean inventing entirely new things but reimagining existing ideas differently. Additionally, creative thinking involves recognising patterns and combining familiar concepts in innovative ways that feel unique and fresh. Consequently, making new connections between old ideas demonstrates genuine creativity and encourages original problem-solving approaches in life. Ultimately, embracing this perspective allows individuals to value their imagination and practise creativity across multiple aspects of daily living.

Zero Tolerance stifling Creativity: Understanding How Ideas Connect & Grow

One way to look at it is that it’s like connecting dots, linking knowledge, ideas, and experiences into something meaningful. Secondly, as these dots gather, they might appear unrelated, originating from different sources, backgrounds, or personal experiences. Thirdly, the creative process happens when individuals successfully combine these dots into innovative, practical, and impactful concepts. Furthermore, by integrating diverse ideas, people generate solutions that feel fresh, unique, and adaptable in various situations. Moreover, examples like electric cars highlight creativity through merging established technologies from distinct fields into groundbreaking inventions. Consequently, this perspective shows creativity as an accessible skill available to everyone across different contexts. Ultimately, nurturing creativity encourages confidence, adaptability, and personal growth while enriching everyday life and future opportunities.

Is Creativity Inherited or Can It Be Learned?

We have all heard myths regarding creativity. Some say “You have to be born with it”. Others say “You must be left-brained.” Some people think it is related to art, some think it is related to madness. However, whilst having the right genetic makeup can make your brain more inclined towards creative thinking, factors such as upbringing, plays a crucial role in your brain’s development, and the truth is that everyone, kids and adults, can teach themselves to be deliberately creative.

But how do I foster my kids’ creativity?

These are the three basic components of creativity that you need to keep in mind:

  1. Intrinsic Motivation: you need to make sure that your kid has an intrinsic desire to learn about something and get better at it. Usually, we have intrinsic motivation for things that we appreciate and are linked with our values.
  2. Expertise: you need to provide the kid with opportunities to gain some knowledge in the area he/she/it wants to be creative in. To increase the number and variety of dots in its head.
  3. Creative Thinking Skills: this is where you help the kid to understand the creative problem-solving process; how ideas are developed. This can be developed with practice.

And how can my kid practice its creative thinking skills? 

Here are some practices that can be used:

  1. Keeping a specific direction in mind not to get lost in the creative process and a plethora of ideas. It is important to keep the goal clear..
  2. Being proactive in getting exposed to new ideas and information because the mind is like a muscle that loses its vitality and energy if not exercised. 
  3. Creating an idea junk to store even random, not masterpiece ideas which pop in your mind through the process since every dot can somehow contribute to a possible future outcome.
  4. Working on your fear of failure and rejection which can block new ideas just because the fear to make a mistake or not being approved is persistent. Start by not judging your work too harshly and requesting productive feedback.
  5. Exploring a view/goal/solution by multiple perspectives using brainstorming, mindmaps, flowcharts, etc.
  6. Creating a schedule because contrary to what we might believe constraints can have a boosting effect on your creativity. If you keep telling yourself that you will do that one thing sometime in the future, chances are you might never finish that work.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, fostering creativity in children helps them develop problem-solving skills and build resilience. Additionally, encouraging imaginative play strengthens confidence and enhances emotional intelligence in everyday life. Consequently, nurturing creativity prepares children for future challenges by promoting adaptability, innovation, and independent thinking skills. Furthermore, parents play a crucial role in shaping environments that inspire curiosity and growth. Importantly, supporting creative expression empowers children to connect ideas and flourish both academically and personally.

Zero Tolerance stifling Creativity: Written by Alexandra Symeonidou

If you are looking for some creative professional advice on this, you can book an appointment here.

Alexandra Symeonidou is an Intern at Willingness with a BSc in Psychology, who will start her MSc in Clinical Psychology this following September. 

References

Amabile, M.T. (1998). How to Kill Creativity. Retrieved from  https://hbr.org/1998/09/how-to-kill-creativity

American Psychological Association. APA Dictionary of Psychology. Washington, DC: APA

Cavdarbasha, D. &  Kurczek, J. (2017). Connecting the Dots: Your Brain and Creativity. Front. Young Minds 5:19. doi:10.3389/frym.2017.00019

Cherry, B. (2019). Common Barriers to Creativity in Business. Retrieved from https://truscribe.com/business-creativity-barriers/

Cherry, K. (2020). 17 Ways to Develop Your Creativity. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-boost-your-creativity-2795046

Clear, J. Creativity: How to Unlock Your Hidden Creative Genius. Retrieved from  https://jamesclear.com/creativity

Henley, B. (2015). Is Creative Thinking Genetic or Learned? We Might All Be Wrong. Retrieved from https://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/is-creative-thinking-genetic-or-learned-we-might-all-be-wrong/

Similar Posts