Encourage Your Child’s Creativity With These Tips

Children are naturally intuned with their creative sides. Everything they see, hear, and learn about is something new to them. That means that they are easy to inspire and encourage to take on creative pursuits. A child’s imagination should be fostered because that is what will give them the ability to create different things, like art, sculptures, and even writing stories. Research has shown that children who are creative during their formative years, tend to bring this into their professional lives as adults. They know how to solve problems, and come up with innovative solutions. To foster that creativity in your own child, there are a couple of things you can do.

Tactile Toys

There are a lot of toys on the market, but a  simple stuffed animal or a doll will not get the creative juice going. You need to find toys like puzzles, building blocks, and musical instruments that teach children how to make things. This will increase their cognitive functions, and cause them to examine their toys, and thus problems, from different angles. It’s important to ask your child questions as they are creating buildings, or drawing animals. Ask pointed questions like, “Is this a dog?” By not stating what the animal or item is, your child is able to think about what they are creating, and give voice to this.

Television Free Time

It’s easy to turn on the television, and put on a show like Peppa Pig to distract your child for a couple of hours. Kids love television, that is a fact. But, it’s important that they spend time away from the television. Watching all of those shows can increase their language capabilities, but it will not increase their creativity. They will quickly associate their favorite characters with everyday life situations. That means that they won’t be coming up with their own ideas or thoughts regarding situations they have already experienced digitally. You want your child to think for themselves, and sometimes that means learning from their mistakes.

Role Playing

Establishing set times for creative play, is a great way for your child to think outside of the box. You can each create a scenario, like pretending to be a favorite animal or living underwater. These scenarios can be acted out by you and your child. You will have to develop names for the characters, houses where they live, and even different foods that they eat. It is also a way to develop their leadership skills, which comes from having to be in charge. Make your child the leader of your small herd of horses, or the underwater community that you live in. 

Not only will your child’s creativity be sparked with these tips, but so will your own as a parent.