With social media taking over our children’s lives, it can sometimes feel like they spend all their time in front of a screen. While the internet can be a creative place, more often than not it’s a pretty passive one. Kids watch and look at all sorts of stimulation, but are not necessarily challenged to do anything themselves. In reality, most children love the opportunity to think and create – whether through visual arts, song, dance, or anything else.
Our job as parents is to try and help them find a way to express their creativity and develop their skills. We’ve put together some top tips on getting your youngsters to find their inner Picasso, from encouraging a creative environment at home to creating easy origami animals for kids.
One of the most important parts of being a creative person is learning creativity as a habit from a young age and for that, children need creative role models. A great thing you can do for your child’s artistic development is to show your own expressive side. This might be doing art projects around the house or simply being involved in a music group and inviting your children to come along to performances. Kids love it when they see their parents making something new or doing things they love. There’s nothing more inspiring than that, so start by tapping into your own creative potential.
Next, think about the environment your children are in. Is it one that excites their imagination? Or is it a bit functional? Kids who grow up in homes that look interesting and colorful are going to take that approach to life more broadly; they’ll see art as an everyday necessity, not just a subject at school. Try brightening up your home with funky wallpaper or interesting objects that you’ve collected on your travels. Pick artworks with your children that you both love, and make sure there’s always music in the background when you’re relaxing together.
Finally, give some thought to the kind of activities you do with your children. Sometimes it’s easy to pigeonhole little ones early on thinking some are more academic or sporty than creative. But in fact, we all have an expressive side and to grow up into healthy human beings we need to know how to develop it. Start on a rainy day with indoor activities like easy origami animals for kids, making potato stamps, sock puppets, or even spoon people. Ensure you give children a range of different arts and crafts ideas to try; eventually, they’ll find something they really love.
There is a whole range of things you can do to encourage little ones to grow up into expressive, artistic adults. Whether it’s easy origami animals for kids, piano playing, potato stamps, or anything else you can think of – creativity is an important characteristic, so remember to nurture the instinct as much as possible while they’re young.
