workshops

Raising a creative child is not just about wanting them to become artists or musicians. The ability to solve problems, change perspective, and simply come up with amazing ideas is an asset in the business world, medical field, the sciences, or any other career really.

1. LET THEM BE BORED
When I was a kid my mom would send us out every Saturday morning (after cartoons of course) There were other neighbourhood kids out there too and we had the city block as our boundary. We created elaborate games, discovered things that grown ups would have never seen, and made contraptions out of these found treasures. We made up dance routines, we rode our bikes, and jumped rope, and played limitless hide and seek (well, the city block, but it seemed limitless) And all this before lunch.. Yes, we were often bored, but it never occurred to us to ask our parents, what did they know about fun? They would have said clean your room. We were never bored for long anyway, When our minds were inactive, those creative juices started flowing and before long someone would come up with the next great thing.

2. AVOID TOO MUCH STRUCTURE
Soccer, swim class, dance, hockey practice… Pencil in some plain old hanging out at home doing nothing in particular time as well.

3. MAKE CREATIVE ITEMS AVAILABLE
Have a cupboard, box or closet of art supplies available—without them having to ask “can I paint?” Toss interesting items of clothing in a trunk for dressup and impromptu plays. Your junk could be kid treasure—piles of lumber scraps can become a tree fort, the cardboard box the fridge came in, old sheets, just ask your kids if they can think of anything to make with it before tossing. My brother and I spent weeks making a fort in our basement out of these giant boxes the new living room furniture came in.

4. ALLOW THEM TO MAKE DECISIONS
Designing their own room, decorate their own birthday cake, make their own Halloween costume, you may be surprised at what they come up with.

5. AVOID TELLING THEM (OR ANYONE ELSE) WHAT THEY ARE OR WHAT THEY AREN’T
I’m always shocked by how many parents who, when asked if their child could take part in a book making project, exclaim “Oh, my kids aren’t creative.” The trouble is, when you hear something, you tend to believe it, and why bother trying if the authorities say otherwise. Avoid overdoing the opposite as well, “my kids are amazing artists!” That can put a lot of pressure on them to create a masterpiece every time. Even Davinci would fill sketchbooks with drafts and duds.

6. STAY OUT OF IT!
This one is huge! The urge to “help” our kids do their tasks right is sometimes overwhelming. Sometimes it’s ok for the sky to be yellow, and a tree to be blue. It’s ok that their birdhouse is crooked, and their story is littered with grammar and spelling errors and frankly doesn’t make sense. When we “fix” everything our kids have done wrong, we’re telling our kids that everything they do is wrong. Why would they bother trying next time?

7. Even when they ask for help!
Step back and let them discover the answer themselves. When we stay out of their creations, they remain their creations, and we are fostering independent and creative thinkers who may just become the innovators of the future.