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How can I encourage, support, and foster creativity in my child?

What is Creativity?

Creativity can be defined as making something original and useful (Kauffman, 2018). However, the process to creativity is just as valuable as the product of creativity. Teaching children to take creative risks, share ideas, and try something new are life skills that can build student self-esteem, confidence, and eventually help the student find contentment and creative outlets in his or her future workplace (Kauffman, 2018). Developing and fostering creativity in children is necessary to guide them to understand themselves and form meaningful experiences in their day-to-day lives (Kauffman, 2018).

What is needed for an individual to feel creative?

Research has shown that a positive, encouraging environment produces higher rates of creativity in individuals (Smith et al., 2022). Likewise, individuals who are more open to experiences and taking risks are more likely to have positive emotions and experiences with creativity (Smith et al., 2022). “Creative individuals are more creative in their work and everyday lives when they feel a strong sense of well-being, increased high activation, positive emotions, and a lack of negative emotions” (Smith et al, 2022, p. 14). Therefore, supplying our students with outlets to be creative, allowing them to take creative risks, encouraging questioning and discussion, and developing an atmosphere where children feel they have a choice and a voice are just a few ways that parents and teachers can work together to motivate students to tap into their creative potential.

Why is this important for my gifted child?

“Creativity productivity changes across the life span” (Siminton, n.d., p.128). Although creativity varies based on the individual and the creative works produced, research has shown that for artistic and scientific creators decades of practice and creative efforts are indicative to developing creative achievements (Siminton, n.d.)

Creative people develop technological advances, generate scientific discoveries, and produce cultural changes in our society (Smith et al., 2022). Our world will continually need creative individuals to transform our today into tomorrow.

The following podcast emphasizes the importance of developing creativity and how elaboration, a component of creativity, has been effected,. This is a good listen for parents who are interested in understanding creativity and how to help your gifted child.

Three activities that you can use to encourage, support, and foster creativity at home

1.Encourage exploration

• Ask: What new idea did you come up with today?

  • By putting your child at the forefront of the learning process and encouraging him or her to think and discuss deeply, you are validating them as inventors and encouraging them to explore different ideas.

• Ask yourself: Am I providing opportunities for my child to explore ideas?

  • Allowing your child to explore ideas and create in a safe environment encourages exploration where students can "construct their own knowledge" (Kemple & Nissenberg, 2000, p. 69).

• Play games that inspire logical and strategic thinking and offer creative avenues of play

  • There are so many family games that encourage creativity and critical thinking. This Wakelet is created to give you ideas of games that you and your child can play together and encourage creativity within your own home.

2.Support your child’s ideas without undue pressures

• Being open to opportunities and less authoritarian has been found by research to be common attributes of parents of creative children (Gute et al., 2008).

• "Pressure, control, and criticism are all behaviors that can stifle a child's creativity" (Kemple & Nissenberg, 2000, p. 69). While well-meaning, academic pressure can stifle creativity.

• Gifted learners can be emotionally intense which can have an effect on the way that they handle situations and pressure. Mindfulness practices like self-compassion can help gifted students who are struggling with emotions due to asynchrony in their development (Kane, 2020).

3.Foster a positive atmosphere for ideas and independence

• Supporting your children through failures, teaching coping strategies, and building a safe and free environment to learn and grow have been shown to foster creativity in young children (Gute et al., 2008).

• By providing warm and supportive conversations and opportunities for enrichment to students and their creative needs, parents and teachers can foster creativity (Zhang et al., 2022).

• "The three main components of the creative family environment are said to be respect for the child, stimulation of independence, and an enriched learning environment" (Kemple & Nissenberg, 2000, p.68).

• Research continually shows that building independence in children and allowing them to take risks, learn from failures, and are part of a warm, encouraging environment that students' creative needs can be fostered.

Resources

Gute, G., Gute, D. S., Nakamura, J. and Csikszentmihályi, M.(2008). The early lives of highly creative persons: The influence of the complex family.

Creativity Research Journal, 20(4), 343 — 357. doi: 10.1080/10400410802391207

Kane, M. (2020, April). Enhanced well-being through mindfulness: Supporting the gifted adolescent journey. Gifted Child Today, 43(2), 116-123. doi:

10.1177/1076217519899146

Kaufman, J. C. (2018) Finding meaning with creativity in the past, present, and future. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(6), 734-749.pdf

Kemple, K.M., Nissenberg, S.A. (2000). Nurturing creativity in early childhood education: Families are part of It. Early Childhood Education Journal 28, 67–

71. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009555805909

Kircher-Morris, E. (Host). (2018, March 21). The creativity crisis (No. 5) [Audio Podcast Episode]. In The Neurodiversity Podcast. The Neurodiversity

Alliance and Morris Creative Services. https://neurodiversitypodcast.com/home/2018/3/21/the-creativity-crisis

Simonton, D. K., Creative productivity across the life span. In J. A. Plucker (Ed.), Creativity and innovation: Theory, research, and practice (1st ed., pp. 119-

132). Prufrock Press. [PDF]

Smith, K., Pickering, A., & Bhattacharya, J. (2022). The creative life: A daily diary study of creativity, affect, and well-being in creative individuals.

Creativity Research Journal, 1-20. - Alternative Formats doi: 10.1080/10400419.2022.2122371.pdf

Zhang, Y., Li, P., Zhang, Z. S., Zhang, X., & Shi, J. (2022). The Relationships of Parental Responsiveness, Teaching Responsiveness, and Creativity: The

Mediating Role of Creative Self-Efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 748321. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.748321