Just the word ‘creativity’ can bring up some feelings of panic for some parents. Maybe you were never good at creative subjects at school; maybe you couldn’t draw, dance, or play a musical instrument, or perhaps just the idea of acting makes you feel deeply awkward. It’s only natural that not excelling at creative subjects at school can leave you with a sense of inadequacy around creativity.

Having said that, even though maths and science can also be considered creative parts of life, it is important that we encourage our children to play and have artistic activities that stimulate their imagination.

Teaching our children to be creative is essential! But before we launch into some tips about how to encourage your little one’s creativity, let’s take a look at a few reasons why creativity is so important.

Why is creativity so important for our little ones?

Creativity is just as valuable as traditional information-based learning. Let's explore the reasons why:

Children are born with a love of music, sound and rhythm. This is why you’ve probably noticed how much babies love it when you sing to them. By the time they are toddlers, they continue to love music, singing and dancing. Have you ever seen your preschooler joyfully dancing? These moments are filled with intense joyfulness and bring about wonderful feelings of happiness and aliveness. These moments release dopamine, which enhances our children’s (and our own!) feelings of excitement and wellbeing.

Neuroscientists have discovered that children who have more music skills develop greater reading skills as they get older. What’s more, the area of the brain used to develop music skills is the same part of the brain used for developing mathematical skills. So encouraging kids to experiment with sounds, rhythms and musical instruments helps strengthen their brain, which, in turn, helps further their learning in all other areas of their life.

Encouraging your child to be creative and use their imagination not only helps their brain to develop but also enables them to explore and discover new things on their own as they grow older.

Storytelling is an example of a creative activity that children use to work out ideas, problem-solve and try out new ideas. Either telling stories or acting out stories can be a safe and fun way for your little ones to explore new thoughts and ideas.

Encouraging children to explore the world using all their senses helps them to develop their creative responses and helps the connections in their brains to become stronger.

Now that we’ve had a look at why it’s important for our children to be creative, let’s explore a few ways to encourage their creativity.

How do I introduce more creativity into my child’s life?

Watch your own response to creativity. If your experience of creativity is negative, this is often picked up by your little one; If you don’t value creativity, your child will not value it either.

Show appreciation of your child’s art. When your child comes back from preschool with a drawing they have made, make sure to show appreciation and ask them about it. Show your child the importance of creativity in the same way you show the importance of learning to read and write.

To teach kids to be creative, we need to be creative ourselves. This may mean looking into picking up a new hobby. Creative hobbies include drawing, dancing, writing, singing, sculpting, acting, photography, comedy, and other things we may not associate with creativity, such as cooking or gardening!

Let your child be in control. Try not to tell your child how something should look. Let them create and discover for themselves. This will encourage them to use their own imagination and develop confidence in their own creative abilities.

Introduce more music into your household. Experiment with singing to your children (you don’t have to be good!), introduce them to different types of music and encourage them to dance. If you feel uncomfortable doing this yourself then put on some preschool dance programmes for them to dance and sing along to.

Make space and time for creativity. Creativity needs time and space; children need time to try things out, experiment and develop their ideas. Try not to rush your child and allow them to take their time to create the den they are building or the picture they are painting. When your little ones have time and space to create, they develop their ideas, experiment with new things and learn how to problem-solve.

Create a ‘craft corner’. This could be an area of your house dedicated to your child’s creativity. Supply items such as wax crayons, felt tip pens, coloured paper, paints, glue, glitter, various materials and anything else that might be a fun way for your child to explore their creativity. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, it just needs to be inviting, exciting and encourage your little one to use their imagination.

Creativity is all about curiosity and exploration. When you ask your child what they’ve made, they may not always know. Often, it isn’t really meant to be something, it’s more about the doing. Instead of asking them ‘what’ they made, ask them ‘how’ they made it. By showing curiosity you encourage them to feel good about the process of creating.

Move away from asking your child to copy pictures. Asking children to copy something, without putting their own ‘touch ‘ to it is not creativity. Creativity is about your child finding their own unique expression. We need to encourage our little ones to be inspired by what they see and come up with their own ideas - not copy other people’s ideas! That said, if your child enjoys copying objects then it’s important to support them with what they are naturally drawn to.

Encourage storytelling. Kids love to tell stories, either verbally or physically acting them out. Actively listen out for the stories your child is telling and show your curiosity by asking questions. You may want to ask questions to show you’re genuinely interested like, “Wow! What did Spiderman do after he defeated the baddie?”

How can I encourage my child’s creativity?

Creativity should be nurtured and Unii is here to help.