While giving your children a quality education is a main priority for many parents, one thing that modern kids tend to be lacking in some instances is a creative outlet. Especially for young kids, being creative is a great way to learn about themselves and the world around them. But with so many other ways to entertain themselves, you may be feeling like your kids aren’t being as creative as you remember being as a child.
To help rectify this problem, here are three things you can do to encourage more creativity in your children.
Spark Their Curiosity
One thing that often leads to an increase in creativity is having your curiosity sparked. If this isn’t happening naturally for your kids, there are things you can do to make this happen more often in their life.
According to Arunprasad Durairaj, a contributor to Entrepreneur.com, one way you can bring more curiosity into the lives of your children is to expose them to things that they haven’t experienced before. Depending on the age of your children, this could include things like books, music, movies, art, cultural experience, animals, food, and more. When your child experiences new things, they’ll likely have a lot of questions about what it is and how to interact with it, which can help them open themselves up to further experiences and creative ways to meet those experiences.
Give Them Space And Time On Their Own
While you might want to be around your child to show them ways that they can be more creative or have creative experiences, sometimes, what your child really needs to have their creativity piqued is to spend some time on their own.
Margarita Tartakovsky, a contributor to Psych Central, shares that when kids aren’t given enough space or time on their own, their ability to be creative is often stifled due to being overly managed by their parents or other adults. To give them the freedom they need without leaving them completely on their own, consider making your home more of an open concept where you can be within sight of your kids to supervise without having to be right next to them.
Let Them Solve Their Own Problems
When your kids are small, they need you to solve more of their problems since they aren’t equipped to handle many things themselves. But as they get older, if you continue to fix everything for them, you’ll also be stamping out their creativity toward life.
To combat this, Kim Conte, a contributor to Parents.com, recommends that you allow your kids to solve some problems on their own as they grow and learn. Ask them what they think and how they plan on responding to issues before you give any of your own suggestions or assistance.
If you’re wanting to help your kids become more comfortable being creative, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you accomplish this.