Creativity and Kids

 

I have been enjoying blog posts from Minette Riordan for some time.  Today we are fortunate to have a guest post from her.  Enjoy!

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From the time she could pull on her own clothes, my daughter has had a distinct love of playing dress-up. At age three, she would regularly waltz through our life proudly sporting cowboy boots, a tutu and her fairy wings.

My daughter wore that outfit everywhere for about a year and I just let her. I tried to nurture her love of color and texture. [Tweet “We are delighted to offer a guest post from Minette Riordan today.”] By allowing her to dream, she is learning to dream big.

Creativity is key to our children’s success but according to many recent studies, our children are becoming less and less creative. As a parent, I find this both sad and scary. Creativity is at the core of genius in every discipline. At the root of creative thinking is our ability to imagine what could be possible. Without this type of imagination, we would not have airplanes, electricity or vacuum cleaners.

All children are creative. It’s how they learn, explore the world and solve problems. I firmly believe that [Tweet “…we have to get our children outside, away from television, the internet and video games and remind them that human interaction is still their most important life skill”]

Nurturing your child’s creativity is fun and easy to do with just a small effort on your part.

Please don’t confuse artistic talent with creativity. Every child is unique and creative, just like my daughter with her early passion for playing dress-up. The number one key to nurturing your child’s creative spirit is to listen and to watch. What are they interested in? Find out more about their interests; indulge them, even if their passion only lasts a week or a month.

Create opportunities for your child to experience different people, cultures, environments and adventures. You don’t have to travel around the world to make this happen. A trip around the neighborhood, to the local library, museum or the grocery store can open up a new world to your child. You will benefit, too, from these adventures in creativity.

Invite your children to talk about what they see, to draw pictures of or to make up a story that describes their adventures. Or have them build their story with Lego, popsicle sticks or rocks and sticks in the backyard!

I believe that it is our responsibility to raise the future leaders of our world, to raise children who know how to think for themselves, who have opinions and know how to ask questions. Every brilliant invention started with a question and the search for an answer.

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Dr. Minette Riordan is an award-winning entrepreneur, author and coach who specializes in helping creative entrepreneurs to grow their business. She owned a parenting magazine for 11 years and is passionate about helping kids and adults tap into their creative genius.  You can learn more about her at www.minetteriordan.com  Or connect now via Twitter or her Facebook Page

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