10 Ways Parents Can Inspire Their Kids’ Creativity
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Many kids are naturally creative. They look for ways to spend time at home, whether by inventing stories or singing to themselves. But while they might have a natural talent for creativity, whether they pursue this creativity is another thing.
So what can parents do to inspire this creativity further and help them flourish instead of their creativity being something they forget about along the way? If you want to help your child be as creative as possible, here are ten ways to inspire them.
Photo by Jorge Franganillo on Unsplash
Make Arts and Crafts A Regular Thing
The more you normalise arts, crafts, and creativity, the more likely your kids will embrace them and explore their chance to be creative. This can start with rainy day crafts that keep the kids busy, but keep a lookout for anything your child seems particularly interested in, like drawing or painting. You can encourage them to try it even on days when they’d usually go outside so they can hone their skills and get more familiar with the hobby as they try new things.
Give Them Space to Create
You can also give them a space where they can create in peace. An art space in the spare room or simply a section of their bedroom is a great way to confine the mess but also give them a place where they can feel at their most creative.
The same goes for writing stories, playing dress up, or learning an instrument. If you can establish a part of the house that they associate with creativity, they’re more likely to explore their inspiration here.
Show Them Different Ideas
Most kids start by painting, drawing or writing stories. But these are not the only ways to indulge in their creativity. There are multiple options for them to consider and even offshoots of the things they enjoy now.
When they’re young, they might like playing the drums which could turn into a full drum kit when they get old enough. Likewise, if they love crafts, exciting them with an origami Pikachu can combine their favourite things and show them how to combine mediums to create.
Encourage Them
Every parent wants to see their kids excel at something. If you see them showcase exceptional creative skills, you should do everything you can to encourage them. While these pieces won’t be perfect works of art, especially when they’re young, they should demonstrate enough skill for you to praise them. The more you encourage them, the more confident they’ll be. This will eventually help them take steps to improve their skills even more and maybe take courses at school or university to turn their creative hobby into a career.
Showcase Their Work
Likewise, you can show how proud you are by showcasing their work around the house so your guests and family members can see their work. Since you have a camera with you at all times, sharing pictures or videos of their work can also show how proud you are.
Depending on how old your child is, you could also encourage them to take their skills online with a portfolio or social media account where they can build a fan base. However, this is only suitable for teenagers who are comfortable and savvy enough to use online accounts.
Be Creative With Them
Being creative with your kids means you can share in their learning and spend quality creative time with them. You can learn to play an instrument together or take art classes. Whatever your choice, you can see their journey as creative in real-time and even work together on projects that could include knitting blankets or making clothes for the family to give them at Christmas.
This quality time is a great way to find common ground between you and will give you the chance to get the most out of their time at home, especially if they’re going to university soon.
Support Their Journey
There are many ways to support your child’s creative journey. You can pay for art classes or drive them all over to attend gigs or recitals. If your child is a musician, buying a guitar for the first time will give them the opportunity to improve their skills.
If they’re into writing, you can even take on the role of their editor to check their short stories and offer recommendations, just don’t be too brutal at first because this risks discouraging them.
Let Them Find Influences
You have things you love and these influences, whether musicians, writers, or artists, can give your kids early exposure to different creative ideas and techniques. However, you also need to let them find their own influences. As they grow up, they will become interested in other things and want to explore different mediums or genres.
Letting them explore more than what you’re into can help them improve their skills and grow their abilities. They will become more confident and versatile, which helps them become more creative.
But Balance Screen Time
However, while you want to let kids find influences themselves, you should also be wary of how much time they spend online, especially when they are younger. As a parent, you want to stick to the recommended screen time for their age. Otherwise, you risk them spending too much time online and not enough time working on their hobby.
Ask Questions
Kids love it when people take an interest in them. They might want to talk all day about what they’re interested in, so asking questions about what they are doing can help them feel more confident about their creative work.
You can ask them why they wrote a song or why they painted this specific scene. Ask them where they got the idea or what happens next. All of these questions can encourage your child to think more about what they do and encourage them to pursue more.
Creative
Creative environments foster creative kids. These tips can help you guide them in their creative endeavors and embrace what they love to do. There might come a point when you don’t get what they’re doing but that’s okay. It shows they’ve evolved as an artist, and they would not have managed this without your help and support.
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