The Importance Of Nurturing The Creativity Of Our Children

Contributing to the stimulation of the creativity of our children should be part of the tasks of every parent. The benefits that children obtain by developing their creativity are very varied.

Nurturing the creativity of a child is essential to develop the connections of his brain, to encourage him to achieve his individual and social well-being, and to stimulate him to find solutions to the problems that arise.

A baby opens his eyes to the world with 100 billion neurons that immediately begin to send and receive electrical impulses that establish connections. In three years, you will have around 1,000 trillion connections that you will use for the rest of your life to think and learn, to discover and to think.

Every baby has a world to discover. He grows up, becomes a child and begins to create, imagine and explore possibilities. The richness of his imagination makes him an extremely creative being that, as parents, we can encourage or truncate.

Stimulate or numb creativity?

Creativity is the mental process by which new concepts are devised, original solutions to problems are found, and the simple becomes extraordinary. In this, children are innate teachers.

We all have the ability to be creative but, without a doubt, childhood is the best time. Hence, specialists place so much emphasis on the stimulation that can be received in this initial stage.

However, we live in times in which that potential has been blunted, even in children, despite their eagerness and openness to new experiences. As parents, we waste those first years of our children’s lives, ideal for the development of new skills.

How do we do it? With technological devices. The overload of digital stimuli leaves little room to enjoy the simple, which can also be transformed into something new and original. We curtail the possibility of enjoying the benefits of creativity.

Why is it important to nurture creativity in our children?

Improve self-esteem

Increases confidence in themselves and in their own abilities, as indicated in this work carried out by researchers from the University of Cádiz.  It makes them find new solutions and adapt more easily to changes.

Develop intelligence

Playing with your imagination could help stimulate intelligence, as this study published in the Revista de Psicología Universitas Tarraconensis shows . Thinking creatively helps solve problems, preparing children for future situations.

Increase awareness

It is believed that the child learns to be more assertive, to know his limits and potentialities and that he promotes values ​​such as integrity, although, for the moment, the scientific evidence in this regard is not enough.

Promotes communication and socialization

It enhances social interaction, as it  improves the ability to express what you feel and what you think. Also, it promotes empathy towards others in the child. This is stated in the aforementioned work of the University of Cádiz.

Increase self-control

The child learns what to do when he simulates negative situations and emotions while playing, which promotes self-control.

How to feed creativity?

One of  the basic strategies to fuel creativity is play, as shown by this research carried out by researchers from the University of Seville. If, in addition to proposing games, you participate in them, you will not only be opening their creative potential, but also the bonds that unite them will be tightened.

Read them stories and make up stories

Reading stories to our children makes them imagine facts and characters, in addition to promoting a taste for reading. Later, the little ones  can create their own stories ; Let the child propose the beginning and you the end.

Play dress-up to fuel creativity

You don’t have to wait for carnival to dress up. Any afternoon is conducive to recreating a situation with characters. Nor does it require a costume already made or purchased; a towel or an old shirt from mom or dad offers a thousand more possibilities.

Any object can be used to play

A pot can be a drum and the table can be a dollhouse. Allowing children to play with what is available at home opens up options for imagining and inventing. The disorder that is created then serves to teach the habit of saving.

Always have paint available

The child paints because it is one of the best ways to express their emotions. It is important that at home there are always colors, paints and paper of all possible sizes and textures. Also, you can paint the stories you create together or, vice versa, make up stories from your drawings.

Ask about situations and facts to fuel creativity

As they play, ask what would happen if this or that happened. That allows them to put themselves in that place, analyze and search for an answer. Give them time to think freely and to express what they feel. When the child asks, answer and ask again: “What do you think about that?”

Arouse curiosity

The questions your children ask are the way to discover new things. Let them take on the challenge of creating. To have original ideas, you don’t have to have an exceptional intelligence or imagination. Just invite them to search, discover and invent.

Stimulates all your senses to fuel creativity

Allow them to use paint on their body; just watch that it is not toxic. Dance with them all kinds of music, stimulate the brain and body coordination, but avoid those that have inappropriate messages for their age. Invite them to cook, perceive and experiment with smells and flavors.

And for parents?

• It is valid to tolerate the disorder that, surely, leaves a good afternoon of creative games.
• Limit the use of your TV, tablet and other electronic devices.
• Take advantage of the game to instill values ​​such as respect and tolerance.
• Use what is available at home, rationalize consumption and favor recycling.
• Enjoy the unconventional, the fantasy that a child’s imagination offers you.
• Create games to fuel your child’s creativity and stimulate your own.

You have already seen that there are multiple benefits that the development of creativity brings in children. What are you waiting for to start using these strategies that we have mentioned with your children?