Encouraging and allowing your child to think for themselves is one of the best gifts you can give them. To make room for your children to think for themselves is to raise a happy, healthy, well-adjusted child. So, how do I raise a creative thinker and let that part of her shine through? Or how can I tell if my child is a creative thinker? Here's how:
I can do it myself
Every parent hears these words not long after their child acquires the gift of speech. But the parent who encourages their child to think for him or herself lets them--‘do it myself’, that is. Doing it ‘myself’ will take longer and almost always translates into not done exactly right (at least in the beginning), but that’s all part of the thinking and reasoning process. As for those times when it is either unsafe or simply impossible for you to allow your child to do it alone, at least let them help. By helping, your child will be better prepared when he or she is able to take charge. More than your know or realise, you're actually helping your creative thinker emerge sooner.
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Broaden their horizons
Encouraging your children to think for themselves will happen when you expose them to a variety of environments. Museums, nature, cooking, arts and crafts, music, and other children. When you give your children opportunities to experience these things, their curiosity and creative-thinking juices start flowing. They think about how things work, what looks good, which genre they prefer, the sun, mud, grass, leaves and flowers, who they like to play with and oh, so many other things.
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Inspire
Giving your child the gift of creative thinking opens their minds to endless possibilities. By inspiring your child to think for themselves and to explore their creative side, you teach your child to dream, set goals and develop passion for the things they care about most. To inspire your children to think and let loose the creative thinker hidden inside, you need to:
- Acknowledge their accomplishments with an appropriate amount of praise
- Teach them to see failures as simply figuring out what doesn’t work-and to keep moving forward
- Support them in their interests and hobbies-even if they aren’t your own
Builds character
When you encourage and allow your little one the room to exercise his or abilities as a creative thinker, you are empowering your child with the confidence they need to make good decisions, to stand firm against peer pressure, not be afraid to fail and to not be afraid to think outside the box.
Encourage. Allow. Expose. Inspire.
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We hope this article on developing the creative thinker in your child helped point you in the right direction, in terms of your child's growth and development.