“Creativity” – what comes to mind? Inner dialogue such as “I don’t have time for creativity,” or “my kids have time for creativity but I don’t, I have to work and clean the house.” Or, “I used to be creative. . . ”
Creative simply means manifesting something with our minds, hearts, and bodies that has meaning to us. It is one of the ways we make meaning out of our lives. It can be something that can be held, worn, or listened to. It can be something eaten, smelled, or touched. It can be something that makes us think in a way we’d never thought before.
So creative families . . . what might that look like?
Creativity requires unplanned, unscheduled time to let emerge what’s waiting to be expressed. Both parents and children need time and space for their creativity to be explored. A good question to grapple with is: does pure creativity require an environment free from judgement, competition, and goal-orientation; or do those foster creativity? For some children one is true, for others, the opposite. Take time to find out which is true for your child(ren) and for yourself. The best way to promote creativity in your children is by modelling being creative yourself.
– give yourself time to be creative
– let your children see you grapple with self-judgment while creating, struggling to find self-acceptance
– let them see you struggle with being patient with yourself and your project
– let them see you struggle with self-control, and master it
Modelling the fun and the edginess of creativity to our children teaches them not only the importance of creativity, but also how to develop self-control and acceptance.
