I firmly believe that everyone is born with creative abilities. My experience is that many people who are not aware of their creative abilities do not understand what creativity is. Unfortunately, many people were not encouraged to develop their creative skills as children. This is one way to encourage creative thinking in your child.

Recognizing, developing and using our creative abilities is vital. Being able to expand our thinking to include creative solutions to our problems creates new brain cells, increases our options, and improves our coping skills. The best time to learn creative thinking is during our childhood while our brain is growing. Any adult who is involved with children (parents, teachers, Scout leaders) can help children improve their creative skills.

Coloring books and “cut out” art (the type of art in which all children make the same item) discourage creativity. Although coloring books have a time and a purpose, when a child is coloring someone else’s creation, they are not learning how to create something for themselves. There is also a purpose to the “cookie cutter” art, however by doing this the child is learning to follow someone else’s directions. Genuine creativity is self-directed.

The most important step is to understand the developmental stages of the drawing. Unnecessary criticism from adults diminishes a child’s ability to grow creatively. When adults respond negatively to children, they are less likely to repeat the activity. Children begin to enjoy drawing when they are old enough to hold a marker and will scribble with the marker. Markers are easier for young children to use than crayons and safer than pencils. Adult supervision is necessary to ensure that the child draws on paper and does not put the marker in his mouth. Usually a reminder that markers are used on paper will suffice. If a child cannot comply with this, save the markers and try again later. Young children enjoy learning to control the marker and are beginning to learn about creativity as they create marks on paper. Praising children for their work (“Look what you can do!”) And displaying the work will encourage them to continue their efforts.

Little by little, around the age of three or four, children realize that lines and shapes really do represent something and they begin to attempt deliberate representations. It is important to encourage children to keep exploring what they can do with markers and never criticize or change their drawing. Around the age of four, children begin to draw pictures. Adults can encourage this by acknowledging the growth the child has had and expressing appreciation for it. During this time, children will enter a stage called “Named Doodle” in which they will look at something they have drawn, see a shape that looks like “a bird” or “frog”, and name the doodle as such. Again, it is vital to appreciate this creative ability in the child to foster creative growth.

From 9 to 12 years old, children begin to try to make their drawings more realistic. For them it is important to try to make their drawings more proportional, fill the drawing with details, make the colors more realistic and learn to overlap. At this stage, children begin to feel frustrated and may ask adults for more help. Those children who have not received adult encouragement can stop drawing. If children seem interested in being able to draw, this is a good time for them to get some drawing instructions. Drawing is a learned skill.

Clay is another important tool to encourage creative growth. Adult supervision is vital to prevent ingestion and, again, gentle reminders that the clay is for doing things rather than eating are generally sufficient. Allowing the child to do what they want with the clay will allow them to continue and grow in their own creative process. The clay process is similar to drawing, and often children make something, look at it, and then decide what it is. Around the age of nine to 12 it is normal for children to make phallic symbols and it is important that adults can accept this with little or no comment.

Painting is another medium that encourages creative expression. School-age children will really enjoy mixing colors and will learn a lot from doing it. Children enjoy watching the colors gradually swirl and blend. When a child mixes all the colors and discovers that he is now military green or brown, he has learned something about color mixing. If they can be mixed in some moderation, with the help of an adult, they will begin to learn color theory. Paint is much more difficult to control than markers or clay. Rigid brushes help children better control paint.

Problems invariably arise when someone tries to create something. Problems are opportunities for creative thinking. It is always best to allow the child to try to solve the problem on his own and praise him when he does, noting how creative he has been. When they ask for help, an adult can encourage them by reminding them of other times they have solved problems. The adult can also ask the child questions to help him think of solutions. Most importantly, the adult facilitates the child’s creative thinking process, rather than simply solving the problem for the child. Adults can make some suggestions and ask the child for more ideas. Brainstorming ideas and solutions with children invariably increases their ability to think creatively. Ask the children for “silly” ideas. Albert Einstein once said: “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope.”

Lastly, enjoy doing these activities with your children! It is true that we all learn best when we are relaxed and we are more relaxed when we enjoy an activity. Therefore, adults should be able to enjoy these activities with their children. Watching children enjoy their creative abilities can be extremely enjoyable for adults, as well as educational. Often adults will find that they have learned a great deal about creativity by observing their children.

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