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Raising Imaginative and Creative Children - Some Ideas and Tips

By Andrew Loh


Children just love to be extremely imaginative and creative! You children could be a source for several new and fresh ideas and creative suggestions! Nevertheless, children may often get confused with their ideas because most of them are not focused and fixed in their views; it is more likely that your child may drift from one activity to the other within no time. As a parent, you may wish to help and assist your children in developing their imagination and creativity with a sense of purpose and dedication.

Nurturing and developing imagination and creativity in your children is very critical, because it promotes and enhances problem-solving skills and acumen, so much needed to reach success in their life. To nurture imagination and creativity in your children, you may just need to step back a little bit and help them probe and explore with very little expectations of possible outcome. You children are humans like you, they tend to commit lot of errors and blunders just like you did in your childhood. You children can easily learn from a process of trial and error, by acting on their senses, and by learning various techniques that assist them in keeping with the line of their cherished goals.

Here are some practical ideas that will help your children to become imaginative and creative in their life:

The Usefulness of Arts and Crafts

Children simply adore anything that helps them to draw and write. Markers, pencils, pens, clay, color boxes, crayons, papers, models are some of the most loved things and tools by your children! In reality, art and craft can help your children in many ways and means. Art helps you children to create and design something that is very pleasing and nice to look at. However, there is more to ordinary craft and art creation; mind you, just underneath those simple looking art work, a number of things will be going on inside your children's brain!

Art teaches your children to believe in themselves, to attempt working on new things and adhere to their own beliefs and values. Art can teach your children bring a number of surprises, possibilities, and wonderful things in imagination that are so special and rare in their lives! Art and crafts make an important tool to open your children's imagination and creativity. Imagination and creativity are two of the most sensitive and critical keys here. Ensure that you are choosing materials that subtly demand plenty of imagination and creativity from your children.

Here are two sets of ideas that will help you how to choose art items for your children:

  1. For children 2 to 5 years old: Buy boxes of crayons, water colors, brushes, art paper, eraser, color pencils and other materials that are safe to work on.

  2. For children 5 to 10 years old: Pencils of many shades, hardness and colors, oil paints, brushes, color papers, boards and other tools.

  3. Bring home an array of drawing tools like color papers, books, non toxic crayons, washable markers, colored pencils and color brushes.

  4. Sit down with your child to design and create a new project. Involve your children while designing the projects. Ask them to evolve their own ideas for the project. Just give them suggestion or improve upon their ideas. Never interfere when they are suggesting you some ideas.

  5. Ask them how they are going to proceed with their projects. Seek inputs on their projects. Make them think and act on their ideas.

  6. Ensure that your children are planning their activities that are probing and exploratory in nature.

Tip: You children just love to get their hands soiled and dirty to experience and enjoy the artwork with all their imagination and creativity at full flow! In fact, your children will simply love finger painting their favorite animals and plants!

The Magic of Imaginative and Creative Toys

All children are different and no two children think and act in similar manner! When choosing toys, you must think on the imaginative and creative part of them. Some children learn by singing, while others may master skills by working on their toys. Ensure that you are exposing your children to every type of toys that provide them an opportunity to learn the skills of imagination and creativity. Any type of toys and play tools that make them creative and imaginative should be perfect. In some cases, even the simplest of all toys could be very creative.

Here are some toys and playthings that will help your children to be imaginative and creative:

  1. Clay and mud-dough that will help your children develop cognitive skills, imagination and designer creativity.

  2. Colorful and vibrant puppets.

  3. Action and adventure toys and figures.

  4. Building blocks and materials.

  5. Mechanical engineering toys and kits.

  6. Role-play toys and play sets.

  7. Dress up fabrics and colored robes.

  8. Musical instruments like baby guitars, keyboards and flutes.

  9. Play-houses and pens.

  10. Board and language games.

  11. Puzzles and quiz games.

  12. Karaoke mikes and music sets.

A good toy will help your child develop imagination and creativity. Let the toys that you choose be open-ended and be full of options. Open-ended toys are good for your children, because of their choices and options. Ensure that the toys that you purchase for your children are based on imagination and creativity, and not on electrical power!



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