Back Off to Raise a Creative Child

Feb 25, 2016 by apost team

Think your kid is the next Mozart? Does your little one show natural signs of musical inclination? Does he or she have what it takes to be a child prodigy? Not surprising, the way you raise your child can influence the amount of “genius” he or she will display later in life. What is surprising to most parents is that the parents who step back and allow their kids to find their own genius raise more creative children. Discover just how to do this with a few tips.

Don’t Force Your Own Ideas

According to a New York Times article, parents should “back off” when it comes to raising kids. Parents who forced their children into an activity, like a sport or musical instrument, often found that the child might excel at the sport just enough to make the parents happy. If you force your love of architecture onto your child, your child might not consider the activity worthy of their attention. Children who were encouraged to take part in activities that they enjoyed and loved were able to excel in those activities – and other activities too.

Allow Your Child to Vibe

The more you step back and allow your child to find his or her creative vibe, the more your child is likely to excel at his or her activity. Kids who were allowed to choose a creative activity – but were also allowed to choose the way they interacted with the activity – were more likely to become successful later on in life. Trans4mind tells us that kids need to find that sweet spot where an activity isn’t a chore or something to pass the time. The more likely your children become interested in creative activities on their own grounds, the more likely they are to stick with an activity.

Make Creative Time Fun

Kids who go on to master a skill are more likely to do so because they find it to be fun. Parents who encouraged their kids to play a sport “for the fun of it” found their kids excelled more than parents who encouraged their kids to be devout to the sport. This even extends to the idea that parents should not encourage their kids to do something because they’re good at it. When parents saw their kids were naturals at soccer and encouraged them with words like, “You should play soccer because you’re so good at it,” the kids were not as successful as the parents who encouraged fun. Just because your child seems to be a natural at an activity doesn’t mean he or she will continue to want to take part in the activity.

Don’t Force Too Many Rules

Parents who limit rules found that they raised more creatively successful children. Imposing too many rules on a child force the child to become dependent on the rules and on their parents. Yet it’s still important to apply one rule to an activity. These parents allowed their children to develop their own ethical codes. Kids who were not given rules were allowed to think for themselves and create their own codes to live their lives. Parents.com claims that allowing kids to fail will help them become creative.

For example, children who were given fewer rules were more likely to grow up to be patient and honest. They felt that the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them showed them why they needed to be patient and honest. Allowing your children more freedom will show them why they need to be kind. This type of lesson is infinitely more valuable than the “because I told you so” method.

Learn from a Young Age

It’s easier to learn a new language at a young age than at an old age. Kids who learn a new language at a young age are more likely to retain the vocabulary later in life. Kids can even learn several languages at a young age. Try to get your kids involved in creative activities when they are still young to discover what activities they’re most like to be drawn to. Again, don’t force a specific activity, but allow your children the space to choose the activities they love. An article in the Telegraph claims the younger children can learn a language the better.

Don’t Pigeonhole Your Kid

Just because your kids love to draw doesn’t mean they can’t love astronomy too. According to the New York Times Article, adults and children who are interested in several activities are more likely to excel at even one activity. Most Nobel Prize winners excel in one subject but are also extremely interested and active in other subjects too. The people who use both their left and right brains on a daily basis are more likely to become creative geniuses. This isn’t to say that you should force your child into science if she loves art. Yet try to allow your kids to naturally gravitate toward many different subjects.

The hardest part of navigating your child’s creative world is remembering that there’s no set “guide.” Your kid won’t be the next Steve Jobs just because you’ve followed steps one through ten. Watch how your child communicates with the world and is ready to adjust your parenting techniques when necessary.

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