Through a parent’s genuine, unconditional interest in a child’s thoughts and actions, the child comes to trust his own ideas and feels safe expressing them. Encouragement of the child to share her fantasies and latest big ideas encourages the child to push beyond conventional thinking. Parents find a way to appreciate the creativity in drawing, painting, singing or dancing rather than complain about the noise or mess. Experiencing parental support for attempts at creative solutions to problems will serve children well in life as problems become more complicated.
Judgment, criticism, and between-child comparisons can stifle the development of creativity. A fear of failure can lead a child to remain superficial in an effort to avoid taking on challenges or allowing his efforts to be viewed and judged. Instead, genuinely curious requests by parents for explanations and elaboration promote the development of creativity and vision. Parents’ questions can also help lead a child in new directions. Wondering how their ideas or creations relate to different senses or feelings can stimulate new areas of exploration and expression. Providing a child with opportunities for learning from people and resources that stimulate, inspire and inform can also promote interest and sustained engagement in areas of interest. Exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking can promote creativity, since the child learns to view things in new ways with new skills.
The creative child/adult is able to immerse herself in her thoughts, feelings, and expressions while temporarily quieting her internal judgmental voice. That judgment may be useful later for self-critiquing and making changes, but it limits the free flow of ideas and feelings during the process of creation. Creativity is also a bi-product of hard work, increased competence, and a willingness to return to work to continue making revisions. Developed within a safe and supportive context, a willingness to get feedback and make revisions can lead to greater depth of thought and more creative approaches to their work. The ability to self-criticize can lead to continued pursuit of ideas and greater competence.
