Great inventors, scientists and sportspeople never stop at known limits. They are always pushing the boundaries. They have the ability to form images and ideas in the mind especially of things never seen or done before. This creative response to a challenge starts in the imagination, often driven by the questions ‘Why?” and ‘Why not?’.
Our children will need original thoughts and ideas to solve the problems and challenges of the world, from depleting resources; increasing natural disasters; the growing gap between rich and poor and our increasing dependence on technology, among others. Innovation will be the lifeblood of companies in the future and employers will be increasingly looking for creativity or the ability to break conventions within their employees.
While the computational ability of computers is growing at an exponential rate (computers are brilliant at chomping through masses of data and finding patterns) we need to bring up children who can do what computers can’t: to think, to create, to imagine, to dream, to discover, to relate, to use common sense. They must keep on asking why and why not because they are the generation that is going to revolutionise the world we live in, making life on the planet more sustainable and manageable.
Creativity and the concept of breaking conventions and doing things differently means developing a way of thinking outside the box. Here are some ideas:
- Encourage conversation – make it safe for your child to share his/her ideas no matter how whacky.
- Create a messy play spot where both pre- and primary schoolers can express themselves through drawing, painting, dough play etc. This a very sensory experience which often has a calming effect on a child – an extra bonus.
- Understand that creativity is not limited to the arts. Children can be very creative with construction toys, in the sandpit, and with blankets and patio furniture, for example
- Expose your children to creative problem solving solutions that present themselves in every day life, such as when you accidentally drop the box of eggs and find that they are all cracked and leaking but not totally broken. Do you throw them away, or do you wonder aloud what to do and engage your children in making scrambled eggs or pancakes?
- Where it makes sense to break old rules and make up new ones, do so. For example, when there isn’t enough time to play a game of full length Monopoly (2 – 3 hours!), change the rules and set a time limit. The player with the most money and highest value in properties combined after half an hour is the winner.
“What if…?” and “I wonder…” are the driving force for exploration and discovery in childhood as well as in the future world of work. One of our key tasks as parents is to ensure that we encourage our children to keep this kind of thinking alive so that it becomes a way of being.
NIKKI BUSH
Creative parenting expert, inspirational speaker and co-author of Future-proof Your Child (Penguin, 2008), and Easy Answers to Awkward Questions (Metz Press, 2009)
nikki@brightideasoutfit.co.za
www.brightideasoutfit.com
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