Creative
Kids
How
to Raise Creative Kids
By
Susan Stump
www.ChildCrafter.com
“Where
did he come up with that?” Kids often amaze
us with their imaginative ideas, and we should
give ourselves a pat on the back for playing a
role in this development. Innovative thinking
is essential for success in school and in life,
and it’s our job as parents to nurture our
kids’ innate desire to be creative. Inventive
play fosters original thinking, an asset when
children are confronted with new situations. By
providing activities that use their creativity
and imaginations, we are giving our children an
important tool to deal with life down the road.
Give
them ideas.
Children come up with things to do on their own,
but we also need to provide them with new ideas
of interesting activities. Think back to what
you did as a kid. Did you write a diary, create
elaborate puppet shows, or sing and dance for
relatives? Share ideas from your own childhood
experiences. Offer creative writing ideas like
writing an episode for a favorite television show
or writing a new ending to a favorite story. Craft
projects offer another outlet for inspiring imaginations.
Craft kits, especially those from Curiosity Kits
and ALEX, offer a wide variety of unusual and
fun projects. They’ve brought us a long
way from the sock puppets of our youth. These
manufacturers offer ideas and supplies to make
such things as scrapbooks, powerballs, soaps,
candy, sun catchers, dolls, planes, dinosaurs,
jewelry treasures, and lots of decorative items.
Kids can gather ideas from the instructions, and
then give the projects their own unique touches.
Keep
ideas fresh.
Pick up any parenting magazine and you’ll
find lots of ideas to get those creative juices
flowing in your kids. Search the web and check
out craft stores. Keep a journal or file for magazine
clippings and ideas as you find them. Stockpile
so that you’ll know how to answer the whiny
“I’m bored” call from your kids.
Give
them freedom.
Once you’ve given your kids some suggestions
and supplies, step back and see which they choose
and where they go with them. This unstructured
play time gives kids an opportunity to stretch
their creative muscles. Watch as they incorporate
your ideas and branch out on their own.
Set
an example.
Chances are, if you are a creative person, your
child will be too. You display creativity in your
everyday activities like when you reason with
a disgruntled child, change lyrics to songs, and
maybe even do some interpretive dancing to entertain
a toddler. Your children see your silliness and
it rubs off on them. You surely use creativity
to juggle your and your family’s schedules.
It’s a great idea to point out to your kids
how you use creativity in your daily life.
As
parents, we always try to do the very best for
our kids and provide opportunities that will help
them mature into intelligent, capable adults.
Nurturing their creative spirits helps them along
this road. With their well-developed imaginations,
maybe they’ll turn it into a yellow brick,
pink polka-dotted road with sparkles!
Susan Stump is the mother of two children and
the owner of ChildCrafter, Co. - Craft Kits and
Subscriptions that Inspire a Child’s Imagination.
This work-at-home-mom offers a great selection
of creative craft kits from ALEX, Quincrafts,
and Curiosity Kits from her catalog and website
(www.childcrafter.com).
