This post on Maternal Spark on the subject of raising creative kids got me thinking. Honestly, creativity is not something you need to push onto a kid. It’s inborn. The trick is to get out of the way of their creativity. Read them lots of books; lay in a good supply of props (blocks and legos, dress-up clothes, play kitchen materials, etc.); and give them plenty of unstructured time and their own space. Oh, and unplug the TV and remove all batteries from electronic toys. Sheer boredom, if nothing else, will give them the impetus to use their imaginations.
Here’s an example from my own family: Shortly after Christmas, I found my older two piling blocks on chairs and placing Miss M’s stuffed puppies in front of them. They informed me that they were Grinches and in the process of stealing Christmas. Amused, I said something to the effect of “Carry on” and let them be.
Have you got any amusing kiddie anecdotes to share? Either about yourself as a kid, or your own kids, or the kids of siblings/friends/neighbors/random strangers?
Well, I thought the kids we met on the golfcourse the other night were pretty creative. They were taking their pet spider for a walk (in his little plastic box-thing) while they caught his dinner in butterfly nets.
They asked Gully he if wanted to play with their spider, then tried to catch him in their nets. Of course, my oh-so-brave dog was terrified of the nets. Liked the kids though 🙂
Thanks so much for coming by Maternal Spark. I agree that all kids are creative to some extent. In fact, it’s a wonder so many lose touch with their creativity as they become adults.
Pet spiders sound much cuter in anecdotes than in real life. 😀
Thanks for stopping by, Heather. I really enjoy your blog. 🙂
I have three daughters (14,7,6). When the middle girl was 2 she went on a train journey with my hubby and misbehaved. He then told her to behave because she would want to be an angel. She just smiled at him, shook her angelic white curls and said: “No, I’m a devil Hooahrgh” She has tons of immagination.
Unfortunatley, I also have the opposite child in my family. My eldest has next to no imagination. All she can play (after lots of training with my middle girl) is a variation of mother, father, child and I am very, very proud that we got her that far. She is mentally disabled and never grasped the use of fantasies. She also finds it very hard to follow a book (even if I erad it to her). Short stories are ok (by now. It took 6 years of reading every night). All I can say is: be glad if your kids know how to tap their imagination. Let them fly and be there in case they don’t land easily.
Thank you for sharing, Cat. I love my kids’ imaginations. It keeps things very lively around here. Kudos to you for working with your eldest daughter to teach her how to play.