Creativity is Intelligence – Let your kids work on their Patronus Charm
Every parent is always precautious about their kid’s activities but they never fail to surprise you. Children are naturally creative in their own way but as a parent, it is important to help them tap their imagination to achieve development and learning goal. We all want our kids to reach their intellectual and creative potential, to love what they do such as learning, playing, etc. With no disagreement kid’s academic genius has a huge advantage all their lives but utmost preference is the lifelong joy that your kid will derive from what they do if you can protect their curiosity and love of exploration.
According to the New Psychology statement of Success, children who are afraid of making a mistake are less likely to be creative. Distract your kid from the disappointment of making a mistake or a failure and try discussing positive thoughts about improving the outcome and repeating it again. It is important that you trust the process though it gets messy sometimes. Most of us like the tidy place but when kids are with creative elements, get used to their messes and be content with their messes because it benefits your kid’s learning process in a much better way. Parents and kids can get too focused on the final result just like ‘you have to end up with a beautiful masterpiece or it’s a failure’. Just watch the beauty of the process than limiting it as what it’s done before and it’s a lot more fun!
Creativity is about not accepting how things are; it is about wondering how things could be better. Children are fond of the question ‘Why?’ because they are expert in curiosity and as we get older, we stop asking such and instead turn gears to automatic. Help your child to preserve the sense of inquiry which is extremely essential to be creative. Children are always in the process of learning from what’s around them which means kids who watch their parents engaging in creative activities are more likely to embrace these activities themselves. If it’s been a while since you’ve done something creative, think about what made you happy in your own childhood and spend half an hour doing that activity with your child.
Set yourself back when your kid is trying something creative like drawing a picture and you will see the child’s imagination bloom. It can be hard for busy parents to set aside creativity time but it could be bed-time after dinner or any unstructured time. Also, try reducing the screen time and engage them to enjoy reading because what they practice now will come a long way when they are adults.
Remember that toys and video games can be fun and definitely have their place, but they don’t build creative thinkers. Make them spend time with sticks, tubes, office supplies, sand, circuits, magnets, water, paints, etc. There are several other ways to boost your kid’s creativity and in the process, your kid may find his/her greatest passion and can find oneself to the fullest.
