Ways to Encourage Creative Thinking in Children
How Can I Encourage Creative Thinking in my Child?
As creativity is not necessarily something you are born with, but rather a skill that can be enhanced, it can be easily facilitated if provided the proper outlet. While many may believe that this is something that kids either have or don’t, that is simply not the case! Children might just come up with some innovative ideas than any adult would dare to even dream of; they just need to learn how to hone in on that skill set. And so, here is a list of ways to encourage just that:
Encourage Wonder
Encourage children to wonder. Creative thinking arises from asking questions like, why is the sky blue? Where does gravity come from? Having children answer these questions will allow for their creativity to take flight. With curiosity getting the best of them, it will enhance their imagination and problem-solving skills.
Trigger Their Curiosity
Being naturally curious, children need the help of parents and teachers to help further develop their curiosity. Exposing children to different forms of literature, art, and environmental situations will further their understanding of how things work while expanding their interest in new sectors. By doing so, your child’s curiosity will run wild as they learn more about what goes on within the world today.
Encourage Reading
Encouraging reading for fun and limiting screen time allows for creativity to take over, as reading often promotes this. By developing logical and critical thinking skills, reading will enable children to focus on learning new things to further fuel their creativity as they become exposed to new ways of thinking. Asking what their favorite characters are or part of the book will give insights into your child’s way of thinking to help implement the idea of creativity.
Avoid Rewarding for Creativity
While you want to praise your child for their excellent work, rewarding creativity can hinder the process, resulting in lesser quality items and an increased chance of burning them out. Rather than motivating your children to complete creative activities with rewards, allow them to master them on their terms so that their creative process remains untouched!
At LogiQMinds, we want children to maintain their creativity because as long as they have that level of creativity, there are no limits to what they can accomplish! As creative thinking is not something children are born with but rather a skill that can be enhanced, by encouraging this type of thinking, children will have the ability to accomplish anything they put their mind to!