Parents can do much to foster creativity in children. Dr. Jane Healy has written extensively on the subject of brain development and encourages parents to bring out the creative side of their children. Some of the characteristics of creative parents may surprise you.
Creative parents teach their children to become problem finders as well as problem solvers. When a problem occurs, children should be asked if they notice anything wrong or out of the ordinary. Children who are always told what is occurring are not challenged to use their powers of perception. Parents of creative children have full lives themselves and do not depend on their offspring to meet emotional or achievement needs. Children need to see that adults set and achieve goals just as children do. This example encourages children to decide for themselves what is important and worth doing.
Creative children understand their parents will not be compelled to entertain them or follow their demands. Children who demand attention do not learn how to use time on their own. Parents who constantly entertain their children rob them of the opportunity to think for themselves and explore new ideas on their own.
Creative children know their parents are interested in their thoughts and creative efforts. Discussion of ideas is a central principle among parents of creative children. Parental interest in the play, explorations, musings, and hobbies of their children fosters further activity in those areas. Such interest helps show children what boundaries to follow as well as that their creativity is important.
Early responsibility for choices and outcomes of their decisions is regularly discussed. A focus on how adults and children can learn from mistakes teaches that every individual has a moment before a choice is made where prior knowledge can be applied. This involves discussion of values and the code of conduct within the family.
Exercising these characteristics give children a mental workout. Just like any muscle, with greater use the brain's attributes physically change. Dr. Marian Diamond studied Albert Einstein's brain. The small but critical areas of frontal and parietal lobes of Einstein's brain were found to have significantly more glial cells per neuron. Dr. Diamond believes this signifies more vigorous use of these particular areas where higher thinking and reasoning takes place. If parents follow these suggestions, the brains of their children will tend to be more robust from exercises in creativity.
Please see Jane M. Healy's book Your Child's Growing Mind: A Practical Guide to Brain Development and Learning from Birth to Adolescence for more information. Dr. Healy is a leading researcher and author in the area of brain development in children.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey
This book provides an array of suggestions families can use to effectively listen to one another, set and achieve goals, and solve day to day problems.
Thoughts to Inspire: Daily Messages for Young People by Edward P. Fiszer
Daily positive messages impact thoughts which in turn influence actions. An atmosphere emphasizing tenacity is possible through consistent discussions about the importance of never giving up. Brief, daily discussions of quotes or life stories of such successful figures as Thomas Edison and Walt Disney can combat the negative images seen through the media. This book contains passages which may be used as the basis for discussions about character traits.
Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child’s Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions by Marian Diamond
Reinforcing the fact that families impact how children think, brain researcher Marian Diamond states: “What’s at stake in early exposure to a rich language environment is clearly more than just a big vocabulary or articulateness or speed reading; it is the structuring of the brain’s entire cognitive mechanism and the levels at which the child, and later the adult, will interact with and understand the world.”
The following websites complement efforts to develop positive character traits:
Website of the national office of Character Counts www.charactercounts.org
International fables at www.wildgear.com/stories
Links to volunteer organizations www.americaspromise.org |
