Each child is naturally curious, creative, and unique – all these qualities come together to help them make sense of the world around them. But, as children grow older, these qualities often become stifled by society, the systems, or activities that force them to learn things in a certain set way. In time, this can make learning feel like a chore, especially once they enter school.
While parents who want their children to be more creative may be tempted to enrol them in an arts-focused class or even splurge on STEM-themed toys, here at MindSpace, we believe that imagination-driven learning for children can help them to realise their fullest potential. These can be done by exercising their minds by drawing, storytelling, or imagining vivid and wild scenarios in their head.
Hence, to ensure that your child carries with them a love for learning as they grow, you will need to nurture their sense of creativity and individuality as parents. Here’s what you can do:
1. Provide Your Child With A Stimulating Environment
The goal here is to cultivate a sense of wonder within your child, something that will make learning new things exciting for your child. One of the best ways to keep your child’s curiosity and creativity burning bright is to provide them with a stimulating environment. An environment full of new things will ignite their imagination and stir their creativity.
Since we are all products of our environment, building a nurturing environment that supports creativity can help guide your child through the world and build future success. What stunts the development of a child’s creativity is overcontrolling parental involvement. For instance, if a parent has higher performance expectations for their child as opposed to learning expectations, it tends to diminish a child’s creativity.
As such, parents are encouraged to adopt the following characteristics:
- Assertive, but not intrusive
- Demanding with high expectations, yet are still adaptable and responsive towards their child’s needs
- Supportive in terms of discipline
- Warm and encouraging, whilst still promoting alternative thinking
- Encourage their child’s independence but within a set of shared family values.
2. Provide A Diverse Curriculum And Different Learning Tools
Every child is different, and not every activity may appeal to them. Hence, to better understand what your child is drawn to, it is best to provide them with various activities to try. Not only will this encourage their natural curiosity, but it will also provide you with insights into how your child likes to learn. As such, it is advisable not to discourage them or make your child feel bad if they dislike a particular activity. Instead, you can encourage them to try others or praise them when they show improvements.
Furthermore, by giving your child a variety of tools and materials, it will help them to better express themselves in the things that they are doing. By letting them express themselves how they want to, you will make your child feel special and confident in who they are and what they can achieve.
3. Provide Your Child With Small Challenges To Overcome
Small challenges or little obstacles in life can also help develop your child’s creativity and problem-solving skills – both of which are invaluable tools for learning. One effective way to introduce small challenges is to play games with some degree of difficulty that is not overwhelming. Make sure the game is fun, interesting, and something they can win at. When you allow your child to encounter and overcome these little challenges, you are, in turn, helping them be more confident in their ability to learn new things and solve problems.
Nurture Your Child’s Creativity And Growth Mindset With MindSpace
At MindSpace, we believe every child is unique and born with a unique capacity to learn. As such, our job is to help your child learn and explore the world in a safe, stimulating but fun environment. Offering after-school enrichmentclasses like English, Math, Chinese and Science for primary school students, MindSpace recognises every child’s curiosity, creativity and bases our childcare philosophy around it.
In addition to after-school enrichment lessons, MindSpace also offers activities like Champion Theatre, Champion Communication courses and a nurturing environment to strengthen your child’s creativity and academic foundations. When we nurture these qualities and let our students explore the world on their own terms, they can learn faster, but also foster their love for learning.
Book a tour to any of our MindSpace centres in Singapore and learn how we can help your child grow to their fullest potential.