How to stifle your creativity in ten steps over at lifehack is a good template for how not to stifle your kids creativity.
Discourage Fear
Discourage fear in your kids, especially fear of getting it wrong or being ridiculed. Encourage ‘giving anything a go’. Don’t pass your own fears and misgivings onto your kids wherever you can help it. Reminds me I really need to let Erin go it alone a bit more in the cruising/climbing and investigating deapartment.
Accentuate the Positive
When they are struggling remind them of a time when they achieved something by trying again and again.
Don’t Plan Their Days To The Last Second
A hot topic at the moment, how many activities are too many activities? When there isn’t any time for free play!
Encourage Individuality
Let them know it’s ok to be different. It could be this that helps them say no, when their friends are all saying yes later on!
Try Something Different
We all like to focus on the things we are good at, but trying new things is important. Rotate the toys, visit a different park, take a different route, there are opportunites to learn in every new experience.
Don’t Be The Dictator
Encouraging kids to make good decisions for themselves is what we should be aiming for. It’s pretty easy to dictate their every move, but, eventually they will be teenagers and we are going to need to rely on them to make their own decisions, I think I’d rather start early and encourage good decision-making before the decisions involve drugs, alcohol and other such teenage activities nudge..nudge..wink..wink.
Encourage Questions
Questions show that they are thinking about their world. The constant why’s are serving a purpose, remember, they are starting out with no knowledge whatsoever, it’s no wonder they have so many questions. So stay calm and answer as many as you can.
Follow Up On Ideas
Encourage them to follow up on their creative ideas and thoughts ie “Mum, this would make a really cool……” take that washing up liquid bottle and help them make that rocket, then encourage them to make a rocket launcher…. This has two benefits, being able to follow through on ideas, and love of learning, think about it, they will probably need to research what a rocket launcher looks like before they make one!
Ask Their Opinion
Make them feel important and worthy of an opinion. Even seemingly inconsequential things like “should we buy green apples or red apples” can be important to kids who are living in a world where they have very little control.
Challenge
Encourage them to challenge themselves, even if you think they might fail (unless it’s dangerous), failing is something we all need to do so that we learn how to bounce back and achieve success next time. You never know they might just surprise you and themselves by achieving success the first time around.
Thoughts welcome…..
3 Responses to “How NOT To Stifle Your Kids’ Creativity”
This is a great post Erica, very insightful - and thanks for the link to the Lifehack post!
Thoughtful post. I really like the don’t be a dictator point. I’m trying to offer more choices on the simplest things like red or blue top or peas or carrots to encourage my son to make decisions. He’s much easier to deal with and happier when he’s got some say in what’s happening.
I also work on not showering him with lots of praise all the time for the littlest things. I try and ask him what he thinks- if he likes it, do you feel good/proud. He makes and does some great things when I remember to do it that way. I think this helps his creativity to develop as he changes and adapts to his ideas and not to just mine.
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