After spending hours poring over creativity neuroscience, psychology and research, I needed to take a step back and consider, what does this all mean for me as a parent of young children?
I have come up with the following model to provide a memorable approach to creative parenting which I hope can support others:
The 3 Core Jobs of Creative Parenting:
- Inspire: Inspire and immerse children in new knowledge, activities, art and experiences to fuel their curiosity and build their unique stock of interests, memories and beliefs
- Unlock: Build children’s creative thinking capabilities by engaging them with different activities and games that actively engage the brain’s creative functionality
- Unleash: Coach and nurture children’s creative confidence by guiding their creative adventures with an open mind, open ears and an open heart!
This Inspire, Unlock, Unleash model helps to summarise the “what” parents can do to support the development of young children’s creativity, but it does not necessarily reveal the “how”!
I have therefore created the following playbook to support parents nurture their children’s creativity and to integrate a creative practice into their family’s daily lifestyle.
INSPIRE
- Indulge your children’s curiosities: Actively find books, TV shows and experiences aligned with your kids interests to fuel their thirst for discovery!
- Try new things: Curiously go to new places, read new stories, try new activities etc. to expand the experiences and knowledge of the whole family and build treasured memories!
- Share your creativity: Share your own creations and interests with your kids to build a culture where the family learns from and celebrates each other’s creativity together.
UNLOCK
- Create space for play & daydreaming: Not every minute of the day needs to be scheduled. Relaxed, free time allows children to indulge their imaginations and take time for reflection.
- Be more purposeful about the toys you purchase: Really take time to consider a toy’s value and potential for creative play, as well as its sustainability!
- Make stuff: Cook new recipes, make up games, design costumes, make up stories etc. to exercise the minds creative capabilities and build creative confidence
UNLEASH
- Be a creative companion. Do not over-instruct or judge your kid’s creations based on adult “reality” or “quality”. Give space for kids to explore and exercise their own creative choices
- Don’t solve all the problems! When it is safe to do so, don’t just jump in and solve a kids’ problem for them. Ask them questions to trigger their own creative response!
- Show & celebrate creations. Create spaces in the house for children to proudly display their work and observe how their style and capability evolves over time.
Note: This playbook is best suited to parents raising younger children between the ages of 2 – 10. As children reach the teenage years, the above techniques will need to be expanded upon to address specific challenges and developments that occur later in childhood.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it provides a practical starting point and addresses the Raising Natural Born Thinkers values of: Connect, ExploRe, ListEn, PlAy, QuesTion and LovE.
At the end of the day, I imagine many of you reading this list feel that you do much of these activities today which is fantastic!
Ultimately, the ambition of Raising Natural Born Thinkers is to build awareness about the important role parents play in developing their children’s creativity.
This model and playbook will either provide inspiration or reassurance as you begin to consciously consider your own approach to raising your natural born thinkers.