How to Foster Creativity in Your Child

I remember an incident when Krishnav was two years old - he had picked up a keychain and dangled it in front of me. "Look mama, octopus!", he said happily. For a moment, I was confused by what he meant. Then I realized that he referred to the keys as the tentacles of the octopus and the circle of the keychain as the creature's head. I marveled then at how kids from an early age can see things beyond what they really are. Recently, I had posted on my Instastories about Krishnav fashioning a bow & arrow out of leaves and twigs and encouraged followers to share with me their children's creative pieces of work that they're proud of. As I shared these on my Instastories, I was amazed to see what kids can come up with from the depths of their imagination!

If there is one quality that I want my children to have, it is CREATIVITY. Creativity means experimenting with ideas, thinking outside the box, finding clever solutions to difficult problems, connecting the dots and making cognitive leaps, and taking risks. I believe these are the qualities which truly matter and translate to future success in your life, rather than good grades in school. Whenever I find myself pooh-poohing some idea proposed by Krishnav, I stop myself and take a step back. I ask him questions as to how and why he arrived to that idea and I'm often surprised by his insight.

Krishnav's bow and arrow set made out of sticks and leaves

Unfortunately, we live in a world that sometimes doesn't reward those who think differently, and children are told to follow the norm. With that approach, creative thinking gets curbed as we get older. In addition, some people confuse creativity with artistic talent. Or many assume that creativity is an inborn talent that their children may or may not have. However, creativity is actually more skill than inborn talent, and it is a skill that parents can help their kids develop. 

Now I'm no expert but I wanted to share some of the small but important measures I have taken from when my kids were very young to foster creativity in their learning. These habits are now ingrained in the way I engage with them. None of these steps are rocket science but if done consistently, I think they go a long way.

Here's what I like to do :

1. Books, books, books. The gateway to all imagination! Never stop reading to your kids. Read every day! I started reading and showing picture books to Krishnav from when he was 4 months old. My younger son Arjun was very different - he didn't show interest in books until 20 months of age. Whatever the pace, just follow their lead but don't give up on it.

2. Ask open-ended questions when you read or tell a story to your child. What do you think happened here? Why do you think the character did this? Don't answer first. Give them time to sort out their understanding of the story and hear them out. If their answer is a bit off-track, don't say that they're wrong (because there is no right or wrong answer necessarily, it's simply one's interpretation of a story). I often will reply, "Oh that's an interesting way to look at it. Wanna know what I think?..."

3. Encourage open-ended playtime and projects. That includes games like playing with play dough, wooden blocks, and Legos which require building something out of pieces. When Krishnav was three years old, he was intensely into sea creatures and dinosaurs. Using all the toy animal figures we had, the furniture in the living room, and Lego blocks, he constructed an imaginary 3-D world of dinosaurs and oceans holding sea creatures. It was so delightful to see how he projected his interests into creating something out of nothing. More recently, I gave him the challenge to take pictures on my iPhone of all the round or circle-shaped objects around the house. I was surprised with some of the unusual things he came up with besides the good ol' ball! Another time at a restaurant, I gave him four different objects on the table (salt pepper shaker, plate, utensils, napkin) and asked him to make something out it and tell me a story about it. That led to a whole dinner conversation without the need for videos. 

Arjun during playtime with his grandma 

3. Encourage curiosity about places and things. Krishnav sometimes will ask me questions out of the blue like, "How does a car work?" or "When you take a photo on your phone and email it to your friend, does the photo still remain on your phone?" Any curiosity they have is worth your time and attention.

4. Exposure to the creative arts, such as art, music, and dance! It's no secret these pursuits open up the mind and help shape one's approach to other areas in life. Besides enrolling them in a class, these activities can easily be done informally - play some music and shake a leg or encourage drawing or craft activities at home. Krishnav was taking Bollywood dance classes for a short period of time and even though it's been almost a year since he stopped taking them, I still see the effects of the class. He's more open to expressing himself through dance moves!

5. Make my home a petri dish for creativity by engaging in fun, easy, and age-appropriate science experiments. Using simple ingredients we have at home, Krishnav and I have done some cool stuff at home, like "invisible ink writing", 3-D art with flour, and lots & lots of baking! (Catch all of that under my Instastories Highlight "Kids Activities"!). I feel so gratified when Krishnav says, "Mama, I want to be a scientist like you when I grow up!". 

6. Take advantage of museums, science centers, and play areas in your city. These places provide so much fodder for the inquisitive child and allow for open, unstructured play. I'm thankful to be living in a place like Singapore which offers access to many such places for children. I love taking my kids to places like The ArtScience Museum, the ArtGround at the Goodman Arts Center, Science Centre, etc.

Let's foster what beautiful things our children's imaginative minds can present with. As Albert Einstein once said, "Creativity is intelligence having fun".