Raising a Creative Child

Imagination is the cornerstone of a happy childhood. There are only a few years in our all-too-short lives in which we can gladly talk to trees, play with invisible friends, and spend all day painting and drawing. If we continue these behaviors as adults, we are inevitably labeled as mentally ill (or at least insufferably odd.)

I treasure my years of childhood creativity and wouldn't trade them for anything. For this reason, I feel saddened at the number of kids who pass through childhood without ever experiencing the wonders of the human imagination. I am raising my daughter to value her own creativity so that she can experience childhood in all its grandeur.

Here are a few simple tips for fostering creativity in children.

Turn off the TV and video games. Television and video games can help to encourage creativity to a degree-- but they can also block it. If your child spends all day hooked on a screen, she won't have the time necessary for free-form play. I recommend limiting kids' television time to one hour per day, and more in special circumstances.

 Play along. When my daughter comes into the house followed by a herd of invisible unicorns, I play along. I get them each a tiny (and invisible) snack and invite them to ride on my shoulder while I do laundry. When you engage in your child's imaginative games, you give her the encouragement to continue her creative pursuits.

Make art. From simple crafts to open-ended art assignments, your child will benefit from the ability to create art on an ongoing basis. Simple crafts can help your child to understand how to follow directions, while art supplies with no instructions can help foster pure creativity. Encourage your child's interest in art, no matter what her preferred medium is.

Listen to music. Music can stem a child's budding creativity, even in the first few months of life. Listen to all forms of music as often as you want. Keep the CD player on while you clean house or while your child plays independently. Make movies like "Fantasia," which emphasize music along with visual imagery, a highlight of your movie collection. Over time, your child will develop an appreciation for music as a form of art.

Come up with scenarios. I sometimes play brain-exercises with my daughter by thinking of dramatic scenarios, then asking my daughter how she might handle them. For example, I might ask, "What would you do if you woke up tomorrow morning and realized you were a hippo?" She gets to take an adventure in her own mind by trying to conceive a solution to this (admittedly impossible) problem. In the mean time, she develops her sense of creativity and problem-solving.

 Read books. Read to your child on a regular basis. Help her to envision the characters, their backgrounds, and how they might be feeling in certain situations. After you turn the last page of a book, ask, "What do you think happens next?" Try to help your child figure out what is happening "off-screen," in images that aren't illustrated. Your child can even write her own sequel to published books.

 Ask questions. Cut-and-dry answers don't help kids learn creativity, but asking questions can help to encourage both creativity and critical thinking. If your child asks, "How does a caterpillar turn into a butterfly?" you can ask her to envision what's happening inside a cocoon. Maybe she can draw pictures to illustrate her vision of what's happening, or she can author a story about a caterpillar's transformation. Give her the answers, but only after she has done a little thinking for herself.