10 Reasons For Cultivating Creativity from Early Childhood
We cultivate our creativity when we release our inner child. Let it run and roam free! It will take you on a brighter journey.
Do you remember that time when you just get it all? When you believe it all, you hope for it all and your inner child is the only guardian worthy of your heart? Well, that child knows that life runs on LOVE and feasts on CREATIVITY, and it is always on your side.
Do you remember how it felt like staying outside in your back garden on a sunny Sunday evening with your pencil case full of wonderful colours, markers, pencils, sharpies of all shapes and sizes, erasers, and God knows what else? They were all you needed then to spread that wild, messy and beautiful Love through your own story by simply putting your heart out on a piece of paper and smiling big and bright at it. Fantasy, imagination, colours, joy. Remember?
“Creativity is about representing one’s own image, not reproducing someone else’s.” ~ B. Duffy ~
So I thought I would share my top ten reasons why creativity should be cultivated since an early childhood. Why? Because imagination is our inner-child and creativity is its playground, and if we’ve already started art young or we want to grow our children to tap into their creative potential from early ages, we’ll always remember that our inner child needs to come out and play sometimes, especially whilst living in this crazy and stressful daily life. I am hoping that by sharing my thoughts it will encourage you to tap into your inner child more often and find what feels good for yourself!
1. Creativity
Creativity gives children the opportunity to represent their own experiences, thoughts and feelings, and by exploring a rich range of creative activities, the development of a child will greatly be enhanced. You may wonder why?
- They will make more meaningful connections with others by ‘speaking’ their feelings in verbal and non-verbal ways
- They will challenge ideas and solve problems with an open mind
- They will cultivate and demonstrate stronger self-esteem
- They will extend their physical skills
- They will tap into their learning skills more easily and grow their full potential as human beings
2. Imagination
Creativity develops their imagination and imaginative play and it will influence everything they do, think about and create, thus playing an important role in their mental health. To put is short. It gives the child the opportunity to recreate and remodel their world (their life) with a positive and colourful approach.
3. Self Confidence
Creativity boost a child’s self-confidence. By them participating in creative activities especially in pairs or with other children, they enhance their confidence to air new ideas and develop them as far as their imagination and courage can go. Do you remember those days when you were in school and your teacher asked you to get in pairs of 2,3 kids and build something with Lego in a certain amount of time? Yeah, that was fun! (until you’d step on a piece of Lego – oh man that really hurts right?)
4. Unique and original
Creativity makes them feel unique and original. Whatever it might be, painting, drawing, doodling, playing with Lego or playdough (oh those were my favourite creative activities), doing something with your own hands whilst someone else is taking an active interest in what you’re up to, whether that’s your friend, your teacher or your beloved family…well, we all remember that feeling right? That warmth in our heart and that instant smile? Yep, we were feeling real’ special and loved!
5. Learning By Doing
Creativity supports kids to learn by doing. We’ve all seen how fascinated children are with the experience of using paint and a brush (or a roller if they feel brave and they want to re-decorate your kitchen walls – oops, am I the only one that did that? Sorry mum!). By doing something that makes them feel happy and creative, kids investigate and come up with great ideas of using the materials they have at hand in unexpected ways!
6. Possibilities and Potential
Creativity enables kids to discover the possibilities and potential of the world around them and it increases their learning outcomes. By them having freedom of exploration, the children’s emotional and communication skills will flourish like a dandelion in spring (Do you want me to give you a little gem? Dandelions represent hope and dreams that come true – do you remember when you were a kid and you blew on a dandelion fluff, you closed your eyes and made a wish? I bet that today, every time you see a dandelion head you are reminded of all the things you have wished for – yeah, pretty nice right? I still make a wish when I see one!)
7. Relationships
Creativity strengthens their relationships. May they be with family, friends and most importantly, with themselves! By engaging in creative happenings, kids will perceive their interactions with others differently and it will allow them to express themselves better. It will reduce their anxiety as they can enter in a ‘happy zone’ (or how I like to call it ‘feel good zone’) and it leads to feelings of connectedness with others whilst engaging in creative activities together.
8. Inclusion
Creativity makes kids feel included – so important! Every child has the right to engage in play, recreational activities and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. But how lovely it is when we get asked by our fellow 6 years-old pals to join in and solve a puzzle in a lunch break at school? Or to work on an arts and crafts project with the kid behind you, just because they’ve asked you to? Yeah, we all remember how that felt. We were feeling special, because WE ALL ARE. Big or small, we’re all some pretty special bunch of creative peeps!
9. Senses
Creativity encourages kids to use all their 5 senses. Sight, sound, touch, scent and taste. By using all of them to their advantage, kids can stimulate their minds and spark even more creativity! Simple example? Playdough (yeah, I know, I love it too much still!) – It looks so colourful and visually appealing (especially if you’ve played with the sparkly ones!), it sounds refreshing when you smack it on your plastic board to untangle it from your fingers (yeah, they really stick!), it feels soooo pleasing to dig your fingers in it and shape it, it smells sooooo good and…..it doesn’t taste that great, but I remember it was quite salty, so no complaints there! (come on, we’ve all done it – do NOT try this at home haha!)
10. Self expression
Creativity in a nutshell, is the biggest teacher for the process of self-expression. By engaging in creative activities from early ages, children can express and cope with their feelings, and it fosters their mental growth by giving them the chance to try out new ideas!
Feel Good!
Creativity helps us grow emotionally, socially, intellectually and even physically – IT MAKES US FEEL GOOD!
So, now I want to hear what creative experiences helped you develop these skills? Share your thoughts, feelings and ideas with me, I am really excited to find out all about it in the comments down below!
Oh and lastly, but most importantly, make sure you do something EVERYDAY that MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD and that BRINGS OUT YOUR INNER CHILD!
Be young at heart ALWAYS because life is beautiful!
“Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
~ C. S. Lewis ~
Create those fairy tales every day, don’t wait to get old!
