7 Ways to Encourage Your Kids to Be Creative ...

We all want our kids to be happy, healthy, and imaginative, and while the fist two are the most important, did you know kids with a great imagination are more likely to be happy and healthy too? And there are so many ways you can encourage them to be creative and use their imaginations, too! Here’s my list of 7 ways to encourage your kids to be creative, and they’re all very easy!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Please subscribe for your personalized newsletter:

Lavish Them with Praise

Lavish Them with Praise Photo Credit: design d15

If your little one proudly shows you a picture she painted, or a fort he built out of couch cushions, praise them! Your verbal encouragement and the delight you show them is the key to getting them to continue their imaginative and creative play!

Give Them a Class

Give Them a Class Photo Credit: design d15

If your princess wants to paint, or your little man wants to learn to draw comic book characters, find a class at a local school or rec center and sign them up! The same can be said for cooking, dance, music… whatever they want to do!

Frequently asked questions

Keep Items Handy

Keep Items Handy Photo Credit: design d15

Keep a basket or plastic bin full of paints, paper, stickers, and lots of other crafting supplies handy, so when the mood strikes and your little one wants to do something artsy, you have everything ready to go. Keeping everything in one place also ensures there’s little hassle and mess.

Do It with Them

Do It with Them Photo Credit: design d15

If little Susie wants to paint, chances are, she’ll ask you to do it, too. If you always say no, then she’ll come to think it’s not important, but it is! While you may not feel like you’re a good artist, it’s not the end product that counts… it’s that you spent the time with her, and that you tried… and that you had fun together, doing something creative.

Have a Show!

Have a Show! Photo Credit: design d15

Does your little girl dance and sing, and your little man think he knows karate? Do they paint or craft or sculpt? Then help them put on a show for family and friends! Sell tickets for a dime apiece and help them make props. And make sure to video-tape it!

Find out What They Love

Find out What They Love Photo Credit: design d15

Not all kids want to paint, and not all want to build with Legos. Help your child discover what their creative passions and talents are, and encourage them especially in those areas. If it’s an activity they enjoy, they’re more likely to keep doing it, and as they continue on with time, it will be rewarding for them to see how their saxophone-playing or watercolor painting skills improve.

Don’t Push

Don’t Push Photo Credit: design d15

Just because you want them to paint or draw or dance or play piano doesn’t mean they’ll want to, or at least not all the time. Unless you want to turn your child’s creative energy OFF, all you can do is guide and provide and encourage, not push. Let them go at their own pace, especially at first.

Those are just a few of the ways you can encourage your child to be creative, and to exercise their imaginations. I always keep that craft bin full, and my daughter loves that she can draw or paint whenever she wants to! Which of these ideas have you tried, or do you have another suggestion to share? Please let me know!

Top Photo Credit: inglesparaninos

Feedback Junction

Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

I fully support encouraging children to be creative, it helps them develop their image of themselves, stimulates their development, allows them to gain confidence, and if you enroll them in a class it gives them an opportunity to make new friends :D

Great ideas! My parents did all that stuff and me and all my siblings are really imaginative and creative. It is really useful to be creative, people are always saying so.

My parents always encouraged us (me and my sister) to boost up our creativity level. I am thankful to them for that as where I am now is just because of them.

Categories