We all have experienced that children are constantly curious and immensely creative. Most of us, if not all, have been in a situation where we just couldn’t answer a question asked by kids. This out-of-the-box thinking helps kids to become more confident, develop social skills, and learn better. Creativity serves them way beyond their childhood years, since it is often observed that a creative child can more easily troubleshoot and search for a solutions to a problem, than a child who follows a rigid protocol. Rote learning hinders their ability for creative thinking. To develop the skill is easy though. Here are few simple tips to foster creativity in a child and help them use most of their abilities.
- Facilitate them in finding the answer. Whenever kids ask to help for solving a problem, don’t immediately indulge by answering. Instead, ask them for finding out all possible answers. Give special thoughts to the creative and out-of-the-box ideas. Let them find out at least probable solutions. Then thoughtfully explain them about real solutions to the problem.
- Always praise your child´s efforts, even if desired outcome is not achieved. Motivating children for using creative ideas for problem solving encourages them to innovate and fosters out-of-the-box thinking. Ask them to come up with multiple solutions for one particular task.
- Indulge kids in some thought experiments. Ask them questions, such as “What would be your favorite superpower and why?” or ask them “If you had so-and-so superpower, what would you do?” Create a situation in daily lives where they will have to indulge in experiential learning. It could be as small as opening a lid of a jar. Or tying a knot. Ask for their inputs on few household questions. E.g. if you want to renovate your house/ color your house, ask your child for her/his ideas. Let them know that their opinions are being valued.
- Encourage children to read for pleasure. Like the old saying goes, ´There are no more better friends than books´. Reading will make them realize that their life is not just limited to school and home. Books are also very powerful source of ideas. Additionally, reading will automatically lessen their screen time. Because creativity is an activity based trait and such skill can only be inculcated with hands-on experience.
At ‘Box of Science’, we have developed number of kits for enhancing creativity within a child. Join this movement on Activity Based Education.