How can you nurture your creative child?
1. Respect and value their uniqueness. When children feel loved and accepted for who they are, they feel more confident and free to express themselves.
2. Invite them to explore different creative outlets, such as music, art, and dance. Watch them at play and notice what activities they get engrossed in. What causes them to hit that “flow” state? If you notice your child gets lost in drawing, nurture that passion. Provide materials to create with and opportunities such as art classes.
3. Don’t push or judge. Remember that the kind of creativity that boosts happiness is intrinsically motivated. If your child doesn’t have an interest in painting, don’t force it. If she paints the sky green and the grass blue, don’t say the colors are all wrong or criticize her art. Instead, show appreciation for her use of creativity.
4. Allow them to be bored. Parents are often quick to fill every minute with structured activities to keep children from being bored and “squandering away their time.” I encourage you to use boredom jars or boredom busting bags when the time is right, but creativity is often born out of boredom so let them experience it now and then.
5. Let them see you do it. Maybe it’s time to reignite your own creative passions so they can learn what it looks like to be creative from their number one role model – you!
