Encouraging Creativity at Home

Creativity. You either have it or you don't, right? Wrong. While some assume creativity is something you're born with, it's actually more skill than inborn talent. What's more, it's a skill that parents can help their children develop.

A key to success in most everything we do, creativity is a key component of health and happiness and a core skill to practice with children. It's not limited to just the arts; it's also important for science, math and even social/emotional intelligence. With creativity in our lives, we become more flexible and better problem solvers, and this helps us adapt to changes around us.

 Researchers believe parents are ruining children's creative expression by the overabundance of toys that take the place of more creative ways of play. Remember when a simple stick from a tree served as a sword or magic wand? You can still bring back that creativity of the past. The trick? Allowing your children the freedom to create. In doing so, you must give them time and space. Children need a lot of time for unstructured, child-directed, imaginative play (without adult direction). Children also need a safe place to play. Unless you don't mind creative messes all over your home, designate an area for art work and a separate area for building toys.

Here are some more great ideas to help instill creativity in your home:

• Tell silly tales. Try changing the endings to your child's favorite stories and poems. For example: "Little Blue Riding Hood" or "Goldilocks and the Three Llamas." This will encourage your child's language development and help him learn how to tell his own creative stories.
• Start up a band. Take out the pots, pans, whistles and spoons and get ready to jam! Play a wide variety of music and be sure to join in. Show your child how wonderful music and dance really are.
• Make a silly soup. Anything in the house is game for being an ingredient. Let your child choose whatever she finds, anything that's kid-friendly and will fit into the soup pot is fair game. When the soup is done, invite your child's favorite stuffed animals or dolls to come taste the finished product. Using ordinary objects expands your child's thinking about the world she lives in.
• Play make-believe games. Pretend you're a monkey or an elephant. Or pretend to be machines like lawn mowers, popcorn poppers or leaf blowers. Be silly and have fun!
• Make up stories as a family. Have Dad start the storyline, and then the next person adds to it, then the next. The stranger the story, the more fun it will be! You might even record it or write it down for memories.
• Watch the clouds. Lie on your backs together, stare up at the sky and ask your child what she sees in the clouds. For example, "The skinny one looks like a sewing needle" or "That puffy one looks like cotton candy." This kind of daydreaming shows your child that even the most ordinary things can be interpreted in unusual ways.
• Who can be the silliest? Have a contest! Challenge your child to draw the strangest picture of a bird ever, dress up in the craziest costume or have him make up the goofiest dance he can think of. Activities such as these encourage creativity and also demonstrate that trying to be perfect isn’t necessarily a desirable goal.

Involving yourself in your child’s fantasy on a consistent basis is one of the best ways to nurture his creativity. As you’ve read, some of the most creative activities are the simplest. Have fun with the process, and before long the sparks of creativity will be lighting up your entire home right before your eyes.

Do’s and Don’ts for developing your child’s creativity:

• Don’t stifle creativity with too many manufactured toys or too much screen time. Resist buying your child every popular toy and accessory, and limit all screens.
• Don’t shame or embarrass children who experiment through trial and error. Resist saying things such as “What in the world were you thinking?”
• Do encourage curiosity and seeking answers. A good way to respond to a child’s questions is to say, “I don’t know. How could we find the answer?”
• Do value varying ideas and opinions. To encourage brainstorming say, “What a great idea! I’ve never thought of it that way before. Let’s try it!”
• Do encourage your child to explore.

Kansas City mom and author Gina Klein absolutely loves the creativity that flows throughout her home each day with her two daughters, 11 and 8. Together, they create just about everything from craft projects and spooky stories to funny artwork and haunted houses in the basement.