Online Facilitator: Dr. Peter O. Kudaisi, MCASSON, ACIPM

Introduction

All kids display a tendency to be very creative and imaginative. They are naturally curious and automatically creative. But, in a growing environment that is negative and suppressive , they tend to restrict and suppress their natural talents and abilities. Negative teachings, discouraging peers and distracting surroundings may spoil your children’s natural ability to think, imagine and be creative. Above all, an overtly pressuring school and academic system may put more strain on a child’s mind to hide his or her innate skills to display better qualities of imagination and creativity.

Of late, parents are realizing how critical and important developing their kids to be creative and imaginative really is in life. They also know and understand how critical it is to develop their kids to be creative and imaginative especially in the first few years of life. The basic aspect of nourishment and encouragement from  both parents and teachers(educators) is very vital and essential for catalysing the innate abilities to imagine and be creative.

While it is very important to have a range of creative resources and methods to teach our children to be imaginative, there are a few issues that particularly relate to your children and their ability to show positive qualities of imagination and creativity. Parents are the first teachers of their children and children tend to learn a lot from their parents. Parents and educators can use a number of methods and techniques to help develop their children’s creativity and imagination.

The best way forward is for parents and caregivers to set examples of creative ideas and projects. If parents are creative themselves, children emulate and eventually create their own original set of ideas or accomplishments. Creativity among children naturally develops.

Enjoy your children as they grow and develop a number of positive and encouraging qualities. Never be a mute spectator while your child is growing and developing his or her personality, especially the art of imagination and creativity.

Henry Ford once said, “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me. ” It is my hope that this germane presentation becomes one of your best friends as it inspires and equips you with practical strategies on how to develop creativity in children for the benefit of the world around them and for their own personal fulfilment.

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. ”

-Edward de Bono

Most of us, when we think of creativity, think of art and music, and creative writing. So when we want to encourage creativity in our children, we provide them with music lessons or buy them art supplies or encourage them to write fiction and engage in pretend play. But creativity is much more than that. In fact, a person can be creative  in any field, even those that some of us don’t usually equate with creativity- like mathematics.

So, what is creativity?

I will be honest, creativity is not easy to define. It is a broad concept that can take on many meanings.

As a psychologist, one interested in studying creativity and promoting it in individuals, schools, teams and organizations,   l was once perplexed, and just a little frustrated, by the slippery nature of this concept- it seemed as though there were nearly as many definitions and description of creativity as there were many people studying this topic.

CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAITS OF HIGHLY CREATIVE CHILDREN

Creative children can be challenging. They exhibit many characteristics and traits that set them apart. The following qualities can be identified in highly creative children:

*Originality in a variety of ways

*Independence/Autonomy

*Stubborness

*Shows interest and curiosity in many things

*Finding fault

*Showing sensitivity to problems and situations

*Deep sense of purpose and goal, capacity to concentrate on any given task

*Determination

*Flexibility and spontaneity

*Discontent

*Capacity for fantasy

*Preference for complex ideas

*Open-minded

*Analogical /Metaphorical thinking

*Visualization and imagination

*Lack of conformity

*Self-satisfaction

*Willingness to take risks

These characteristics indicate that creative-minded children can sometimes pose challenges in a group setting, taxing the resources of even the most patient teacher or parent. This is where we encounter the danger of encouraging conformity as opposed to creativity.

When faced with a highly creative child, however, we must take the positive traits together. If you think about it, determination and stubbornness are really just two ways of describing the same characteristic.  As educators, we need to view the challenging aspects of creativity as an opportunity to nurture original thinking in children.

SUMMARY

Creativity is the mother of all skills. It is also the guide to self-expression. With the power of creativity, we can easily turn our best self to achieve greater things in life. Creativity is very important and a great gift among children. Every child should be able to express self without any hindrance and obstacles. In addition, he or she should be able to express his or her mind without any inhibition. Unlimited creativity could also help children maintain excellent mental and physical health. When children are able to create something from their personal feelings and precious experiences, they could achieve any goal in life.