How to nurture creativity in your kids

Some classical music, a box of crayons and one sheet of blank paper. Simple, inexpensive and, the easiest way to stimulate creativity in any child. Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human communication and transcends languages.

Once they’ve filled the page, front & back, you’ll see where their interests lie and they will naturally start to communicate to you what they need, or want to do next.

Help them build on their creativity from there but don’t give in to every whim. They’ll learn to work with what they have, become more adaptive and resilient and thus, become more ‘creative’ in the process. As a result, many children now write their own code for games they envision, build their own computers and basic functioning robots.

Concur with the majority of observations above, especially those echoing points of the previous post.

Childlike mimicry of healthy, adult behaviors and skills from positive, role models are important. And, the stimulation of their intellectual development by observation through all five sense is integral to their future creativity, ingenuity and adaptability.

Children today can be too coddled, rewarded too easily and overstimulated by the cacophony of a variety of electronic media.

Also acknowledged is the observation that “Too much time indoors with devices is not good for their health.” Considering that fair bit of advice, the beautiful outdoor weather is calling us now to exercise, balancing the intellectual pursuits with physical ones.

Just the way I was brought up.

I take the position with my kids that my role is to introduce them to as many new experiences and activities as possible, then let them sort out for themselves which ones they are interested in and which ones they aren’t. Then I support them in pursuing the ones they like in whatever way I can. The only rule I have is that they have to do something which requires active effort on their part, just sitting around watching TV isn’t an option.

I don’t really understand parents who try to force their kids to do the same activities that they like or think appropriate without regard for what their kids are interested in, it seems really counterproductive to me.

One of my favorite things to do with kids is art projects! Drawing together, coloring together, making paper crafts together, etc. If parents can take the time out of busy schedules to just clear the kitchen table, pull out some crayons and pencils, kids start to see it as a valuable activity too. Of course, resist the urge to instruct them in the "right way" lol

TV can be both inspirational and educational, it depends on the programme. But Rainyday has a good point on kids not sharing parental interests - they are not miniature versions of their parents. Normally I would have suggested LEGO, Meccano, model kits, paints/crayons, a Raspberry Pi and some packets of seed, to see what they take to and enjoy. But now our future looks to be a mash-up of The Matrix, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Waterworld, you might want to make like Sarah Connor and prioritise teaching them some survival skills.

TV can be both inspirational and educational, it depends on the programme.

That is true. I think the way I phrased my previous post made it sound like I don't let my kids watch TV, but in fact I do let them watch TV, but we put time limits on it. There are some good shows out there, and if you are raising bilingual kids it helps with their language acquisition.