Nurturing Your Child's Creativity

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Preempt the time spent on television and organized activities and have them spend it instead on claiming
their imaginations. For in the end, that is all we have. If a thing cannot be imagined first -- a cake, a
relationship, a cure for AIDS -- it cannot be. Life is bound by what we can envision.
I cannot plant imagination into my
children. I can, however, provide an
environment where their creativity is not
just another mess to clean up but
welcome evidence of grappling
successfully with boredom. It is possible
for boredom to deliver us to our best
selves, the ones that long for risk and
illumination and unspeakable beauty.
If we sit still long enough, we may hear
the call behind boredom. With practice,
we may have the imagination to rise up
from the emptiness and answer.
-- Nancy H. Blakey
Creativity might be defined as putting things together in novel ways, or seeing the world, or a given
problem, with fresh eyes. All of us need access to creativity to solve the problems of daily life, and I believe
that everyone is creative, although some people are born with talent in certain mediums: an artists eye, for
instance, or perfect pitch, or a writers way with words.
We cant give people talent, but we can train the eye and the ear and the mind, and we can help our
children gain access to a creative way of seeing. We can also help them gain the concentration,
competence, perseverance, and optimism necessary to succeed in creative pursuits.
Recent studies examining creativity have surprised researchers. The researchers began with the
assumption that the kids recommended by their art teachers as most creative would be the artist
types -- offbeat, disorganized kids who performed more poorly in other classes at school. They
were wrong.
High School art teachers named as most creative the same kids who excelled at getting their work done in
other classes. These kids exhibited concentration during demonstrations of technique, the competence to
plan their projects, the optimism to take the risk of a more difficult or original idea, and the perseverance to
put in the extra time required to do a thorough job completing the project. While this does not speak to
talent, it highlights the point that putting creativity to use in the world requires the same qualities of
competence addressed elsewhere on this site. It also implies that the same parenting that helps kids
become emotionally healthy encourages creativity.
So how do you help your child develop his creativity?
1. Neatness is over-rated. Whether its because theyre afraid to get their hands dirty, or because they
cant leave their art supplies visible and easily accessible, or because they live by too many rules and dont

think outside the box, kids who live in households with a focus on neatness are rated as less creative. As
Ms. Frizzle of the Magic Schoolbus says, Take Chances! Get Messy!
2. Children who experience frequent limits train themselves to think inside the box. Babies should
learn NO about safety issues, like the stove. But otherwise, you want her to see the world as full of
possibilities. Why NOT let your baby empty the bookcase, or the kitchen cabinet? Why shouldnt she
paint the patio with a paintbrush and a pail of water?
3. Focus on play and process, not productivity . When kids do art to solicit positive comments from
adults, sometimes they cant wait to finish another picture. Obviously, it isnt how many pictures they
produce, its how engaged they are in the process. If you affirm how hard theyre working on that picture,
they dont have to rush through it to the next one for your approval.
4. Give your child permission to be different. Inventive, original kids are often seen as different by other
kids. A little wacky, perhaps, or just plain odd. Make it okay for your child to be out of step with the norms of
her peer group, to be unique, to see the world through her own glasses. To develop her individuality, she
needs your support against the pressures of popular culture.
Youll probably have to start by confronting your own fears about her not being popular. Dont worry, at
the high school reunion, its commonplace to find that the nerd has become a self-made millionaire, and
that odd, silent girl is now a famous novelist.
5. Let toddlers experiment with manageable messes that they help clean up. Examples: water on the
kitchen floor, bubbles on the porch, watercolors or chalk on the sidewalk (just get out the hose), food
coloring in an unbreakable bowl with almost anything (snow, whipped cream, cornstarch or water). My
daughter at age four loved breaking eggs to see what was inside; we occasionally let her smash them into
a bowl.
6. Establish a place for art supplies
early on, that is both easily accessible and
neat. It should include drawers or bins for
washable markers, paper, clay, and
anything else you feel comfortable adding
as your children get older (beads, collage
materials, stamps and inkpads, etc.) I
dont suppose I need to say this, but
coloring books dont exactly foster
creativity, plain paper is infinitely better.
Blocks, with their infinite possibilities,
generally offer more creative play
opportunities than more sophisticated
building materials. Many four year olds
can build with blocks for hours every day;
it helps develop mathematical, spatial and
problem-solving abilities.
7. Make creative art play easy. If your child can initiate art activities without your help, hes more likely to
create art when the spirit moves him. The best gift we ever received was a small plastic tray for children to
put their paper in as they work, but a designated cookie sheet with a rim works just as well. (Youll need
one for each kid, and to wash them after messy projects.) Kids can do art with no worry, since crayon
marks, glitter, play dough, etc all have a contained space. You still need rules (Playdough stays on the
tray, Mom has to supervise pouring the glitter We always put newspaper down when we paint) but

creative arts become more a part of your child's everyday life, as they become "his."
8. Help your budding artist stay centered. From Vincent van Gogh to Sylvia Plath, the stereotype of
artists being mentally imbalanced pervades western culture. It's possible that these examples of talent
paired with emotional disturbance are simply coincidence. It's also possible that the agony of a painful
childhood expresses itself best through art. It's possible that people who break with society to follow their
own drummer are more likely to come unmoored. And it may even be possible, as some spiritual adepts
say, that people who open themselves fully to the creative energy of the universe, without the emotional
and spiritual maturity to handle it and without the guidance of a spiritual teacher, can be driven crazy.
Regardless, it can be argued that creative people may well need extra help to learn how to stay centered.
You can protect your budding artist by helping her develop structures that support her.
Some ideas: Help her regulate her body clock so she doesnt stay up all night painting. Teach her to
meditate. Be sure she gets enough physical exercise to stay grounded. Promote a balanced diet sans
caffeine. Introduce her to artists who have healthy, balanced lives, whether through biographies or movies
or in the flesh. Make sure youre there when she wants to talk.
And most important, introduce your child to the time-honored idea that creativity comes THROUGH us, not
FROM us. The idea of the muse, of spirit looking for an artist to record that snatch of beauty to share with
humanity, removes much of the stress of performance that otherwise dogs creative people. It also
moderates the highs (which lead to arrogance) and lows (fear, shame, self-doubt) that pervade the creative
life. (For a much better description of this process than I can offer, check out Liz Gilbert -- author of Eat,
Love, Pray -- speaking about his issue on Karmatube.)
9. Dont be afraid of boredom. Parents often respond to kids boredom by providing structured activities
or technological entertainment. But unstructured time challenges kids to engage with themselves and the
world, to imagine and invent and create. Kids need practice with unstructured time, or they will never learn
to manage it.
Even more important, children need empty time to explore their inner and outer worlds, which is the
beginning of creativity. So how to respond when kids complain that theyre bored? Help them brainstorm
about possible activities, but make it clear that its their job to figure out how to enjoy their own time.
A crucial tip: It helps enormously to prevent kids from depending on TV or computer to entertain
them. Kids who regularly use the TV or computer are more likely to feel bored than other kids, and
even after eliminating the habit it can take months for them to find other activities about which they
are passionate.
"The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist." -- Ananda
Coomaraswamy