Children are born to be naturally inquisitive and creative. When creativity and curiosity are cultivated in children, they are more likely to be excellent problem-solvers, academically successful, and artistically creative.
Here are some tips to encourage creativity in young children.
Create a Creative Environment
Setting up a creative environment will inspire your child’s creativity and provide healthy boundaries for creative pursuits. For instance, set up a crafting table with various crafting supplies, a dress-up corner, or a LEGO or train table.
Give Access to Creativity Supplies
Give as much age-appropriate access to creativity supplies as you can. While babies and toddlers should always be supervised with art supplies, children preschool-aged and older should need less supervision. You can give these older children more access to craft supplies that let them explore their creativity any time an idea pops into their minds.
Even if your child makes a mess or forgets to put the marker tops back on the markers, these are important life lessons about responsibility. It’s best to learn these lessons in responsibility at young ages and with relatively insignificant and replaceable items like craft supplies than later in life when the stakes are higher.
Give Them Open-Ended Toys
Toys with trending characters, designs, noises, and lights limit the use of the toy. However, open-ended toys like blocks or LEGOs, magnetic tiles, dress-up clothes, crafting supplies, train tracks, play silks, and more, can be used in countless ways that will inspire their creativity.
Praise the Process
Young children are generally not prodigy artists, but perfect artwork isn’t the goal at this age. Instead of focusing on the final result of their artwork, LEGO design, or dress-up outfit, encourage the enjoyment of their creativity and their effort, perseverance, and thoughtfulness. Children have wonderful and wild imaginations, and you’ll likely enjoy their creations just as much as they do when you take the time to listen to their creative processes.
You can follow up with encouraging phrases like:
- “I can’t wait to see what you do next!”
- “I love how proud you are of your artwork!”
- “I’m so impressed you thought of that all on your own!”
- “I can see how hard you’ve worked on that!”
These kind words of encouragement don’t necessarily speak of the proficiency of their skill but will inspire your child to continue to grow in creativity.
Limit Technology
Creativity is like a muscle–it takes work to build up creative skills! Screen time can lull your child into a state of creative inactivity and their creative muscles can atrophy. Limiting screen time to an age-appropriate amount allows your child to have the time and space to be creative.
Let Them Be Bored
Boredom is where creativity really blossoms. Don’t be quick to relieve your child’s boredom. Instead, gently direct them to engage in something creative. If your child needs some prompting, give them some clues to being creative, like saying “What can you make with popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners?” will help get the creative juices flowing without telling them what to make.
Encourage Them to Take Risks
Kids learn through play and should be encouraged to take risks in their creative designs and play. What will their picture look like with a green sun and yellow grass? How tall can they build their magnetic tile tower before it falls down? These types of risks are vital to a growing mind.
Support Their Interests
Children can really get into their creative pursuits, and parents should support these as much as possible. Supporting a child’s interest will not only encourage them to do their best, but it will also strengthen the parent-child relationship. A child who feels supported by their parents in one area will be more likely to trust and confide in their parents in other areas.
Support for a creative interest can include financial or material support, like buying supplies or investing in camps. But it can also be much simpler–and more meaningful. For instance, showing genuine interest when your child is sharing (phone down, eye contact, and active listening). Praising their artwork in front of friends and family, showing up for events and shows, and looking for opportunities to display their talents.
Read to Them
Reading is one of the best ways to inspire creativity. Hearing written stories sparks their own play stories. They might begin by reenacting the story they heard, but then they will inevitably change the details and create their own story.
Creativity at Penguin Crossing Academy
At Penguin Crossing Academy, we encourage and inspire children to be creative. We offer a wide range of open-ended and creative toys so they can engage in creative play. Our teachers have regular craft time to hone their artistic skills, and teachers regularly read quality literature to children. Our curriculum teaches basic concepts like colors, shapes, numbers, and letters, which are the springboard to creativity.
