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The Importance of Creative Outlets for Children

Updated on October 1, 2014

I Hear Colors

Source

My Own Personal Experience

Children benefit greatly upon having the freedom to express themselves creatively. When we allow them to "be" themselves instead of pushing rigid rules, they blossom into beautiful beings.

I am a mother of an almost 4-year-old. She keeps me on my toes! One thing I love to do with her is create. I make sure to take time to do creative ventures with my daughter. I know it is important because it allows her to develop creatively as a person.

Creativity is not just about making art. Creativity is problem-solving. Many people who are not in the creative fields may not understand this. When you create something, you most times will run into a problem of not knowing how to continue the project.

When I was taking an Art 101 class at the local community college, I learned that art is about problem-solving. Many artists create techniques upon mistake or happenstance. This is the beauty of creativity. You can discover many new things when creating, whether it be art or anything else for that matter. Having the ability to think critically and problem-solve are skills that anyone would need in their day to day life.

The above watercolor painting is a collaborated piece of art by my almost 4-year-old daughter and I. What I noticed when collaborating with her in painting is that we become like one person, making the art. It is almost as if collaborating allows a form of telepathy to make way. She nor I have to say what colors go where. It is as if she knows what I am thinking and I know what she is thinking.

I believe creativity stimulates the brain in more ways than we know.

Do you take time to do creative activities with your children?

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Technique vs Intuition

Technique will always override intuition, which is why we try to encourage allowing children to be open and free to create without rigid rules and constraints.

"The less technique children have, the more they use their intuition."

This quote from the familyeducation.com website discusses how children are able to truly express their inner feelings and emotions through painting specifically, but only when we allow them to be open and free to express those things without hard pressing rules. They also discuss how we need to lean away from technique and promote intuition.

Source

Boredom Stimulates Creativity

According to Dr. Teresa Belton via the BBC, she states that our expectation that children should always be busy or active may obstruct their creativity development.

She also speaks about the challenges of technology in this day and age and how that affects children. Children need to be able to just "space out." If they are always engaged, they lose their ability to think and act creatively. Dr. Belton concludes stating, "For the sake of creativity perhaps we need to slow down and stay offline from time to time."

The Point Zero Method

According to familyeducation.com, there is a method that can be used to help stimulate and develop creativity in children. This method focuses on relieving and removing unwanted expectations of our children's production of creative outlets. For example, many parents are always focused on figuring out what it is their child has drawn or painted. Instead of expecting a masterpiece, the Point Zero Method speaks about praising the child no matter what they produce or create.

Children have a lot of pressure put on them from parents especially to produce and achieve. It is up to the parents and teachers to relieve some of that stress and pressure by praising their work, no matter the outcome.

Creativity in Demand

Like this video states, creativity is a in demand skill needed by employers from their workers. So many of the school programs that helped children and young adults develop their creativity have been reduced if not done away with altogether. We need to focus on regaining programs that help our future generation develop the creative skills they need.

Source

10 Ways to Be Creative

Creativity: Just Do It!

So, whether you have children or you don't, being creative is important. Try to challenge yourself to be creative everyday. Doing this will not only help you think creatively, but will help you develop your problem-solving skills. Creativity is a way to overcome boredom and it gives you ways to branch out and connect with other creative people.

Creativity is so much more important than we tend to think. Make it a mission to be creative!

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