Encouraging creativity

How to raise creative children? A question parents often ponder. As our children grow up, we tend to have a preconceived idea of skills that we need to teach them: how to tell the time, how to tie their shoelaces, how to ride a bicycle, why it’s important to be kind and respectful to others, how to wash the dishes and so forth. What isn’t always made top priority is how to encourage their creative side. And creativity is not limited to artistic skills like painting, writing and decorating a cake – it also relates to problem-solving, an ability that will help them countless times in life.

Five suggestions for raising creative children

Boredom can help raise creative children

1. Allow them to be bored

Boredom fosters creativity in children as it makes them think outside of the box. When screen time is over and they complain about being bored or having nothing to do, encourage them to entertain themselves. You can make suggestions – like drawing, painting, reading, playing with toys, spending time outdoors, building a puzzle – but leave it up to them to actually follow through. Even if they just lie on their bed and mull things over in their mind, it’s not time wasted.

2. Get them outside

Spending more time outdoors is a great way to raise creative children. Schedule outdoor time with your children as often as possible. Whether it’s a walk around the neighbourhood, playtime in the park, or a hike in nature on the weekend. While outdoors, encourage them to collect items or try to spot birds, insects and the like. This spurs curiosity and gives them deeper insight into their surroundings. For younger children, suggest that they collect feathers, flowers, rocks, sticks and leaves – when you return home, place everything you collected on the table and discuss the items. For older children, let them climb a tree, search for rare birds or flowers and plants, or try to tick off a few things on a list (find an oak tree, spot three different birds, identify a plant).

3. Diversify their palate

Trying new foods is a great way to get children excited about different flavours and promote their knowledge. When time and budget allow get them involved… Let them pick a fruit or vegetable once a week that they’ve never tried; it could be something exotic like dragon fruit or fresh coconut or it could simply be a variation of something they’re used to, like a different variety of potato. Alternatively, try a new dish once a month – make a Balinese stir-fry together or prepare homemade sushi. Important to note: they don’t have to love each thing they sample – the point is the experience and what they learn along the way.

4. Encourage them to use their imagination

Ask them hypothetical questions that get them thinking – during a family dinner, before bed, while relaxing together on the weekend…
Some examples could be:
If you had a superpower what would it be and why? If you were an animal, what would you be and why? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
The questions and answers can be serious, made up and even funny – it’s purely an exercise to get them thinking and considering why they choose what they do.

5. Involve them in problem-solving

If there’s something in the home that needs changing or solving, ask them to assist you in coming up with ideas to find a solution.
Some prompts could be:
The car is always a mess after the weekend – what can we do to limit it getting so messy? The kitchen cupboards are so untidy – how can we organise things better? We’ve got all these vegetables in the fridge that need to be eaten before they go bad – what can we make with them?
Getting them involved makes them feel important, builds their confidence and allows them to think creatively about a solution.

We understand the importance of creativity

At Wolsey Hall Oxford we believe in nurturing creativity. Our password protected Primary and Secondary community websites give students the opportunity to indulge their creative sides by joining a variety of clubs and monthly show-and-tell sessions, browsing our virtual library and engaging in our friendly, inclusive student forum – there is something for everyone.

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How to raise creative children