Did you know that 80% of parents in the UK say they can see the clear benefits of uncontrolled play? It’s no secret that parents recognize the benefits of letting their kids just… play.
Are you trying to make sure that your child is as artistic and expressive as possible? Exposure to creative outlets is a great way to get there.
However, you can also do things as a parent to help your child really hone those skills.
To encourage your child to utilize their creative mind, keep reading below to get some basic tips.
Give Them Support
Do you want to know how to squash someone’s creativity? Ridicule them.
Whenever your children want to do something creative that may seem “weird” or outside of the box, encourage them to give it a try. Remember that even if their ideas don’t make sense to you, that doesn’t make them poor ideas.
(And, if the idea does end up being poor, talk to your child about the good parts of it and what could be done differently next time to make it work better! It’s all about support.)
Consider Adding More Fun Activities (Like Magic)
When people think of creativity, they often think of traditional art, like drawing, painting, or sculpting. However, other activities require creative thinking as well.
Magic is one of those things that can really help child development because it teaches important skills, like problem-solving and decision-making, while keeping things creative. Check out the full article on this to see how it can be a beneficial and fun activity for your child.
Provide Artistic Opportunities
Children thrive when they get support from their parents to express their creativity and imagination, so you want to provide them with plenty of opportunities to do things that give them this option.
Make sure they have access to things that promote pretend play, encourage artistic expression, and help them hone those creative skills.
Keep It Simple
Although you definitely want to provide as much opportunity for creativity as you can, if this isn’t possible, then don’t fret! You can still encourage your child’s creative ideas without a lot of extra “tools.”
Basic items, like water, paper, crayons, or even magnets, can help your child get excited about imaginative thinking.
Let Them Do Their Thing
Try to avoid rewarding your child just for doing something creative. This will make it less organic and more like something they have to do to get something in return.
If you want your child to exercise their own creative ideas and let that artistry flow through them, just let them express their creativity on their own without interruption or compensation!
Help Your Child Exercise Their Creative Mind
Children already have their own type of creative mind, but as an adult in their life, you can help them hone these skills and learn why creativity is so important.
Work with them to ensure they have opportunities and know how to be creative, but encourage them to do what feels most natural to them. As they continue to grow, their artistic expressions will grow with them!
Check out the rest of our blog if you want to learn more about helping your child grow.