Imagination is the biggest gift humans received from Mother Nature and kids are especially good at getting the best out of that precious gift. However, while imagination can’t run out, it can go rusty, so it’s important to help your kids exercise it and allow it to grow and develop with them. No matter if you’re super busy with your work or just not a creative person yourself, these fun little tips will definitely help you spark your child’s imagination.
Never force anything
First things first, you should never push your kid to do anything art-related that they don’t want to do. Even if they enjoy an activity, if you pressure them, their interest might dwindle quickly. Plus, creative activities are not supposed to resemble homework or house chores—they should be fun and enjoyable.
Engage them in active pursuits
Imagination is like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to stay strong and functional. So, kids who often engage in passive activities like watching TV or scrolling Instagram are just soaking up other people’s ideas instead of creating something of their own. Some more low-tech activities like reading, taking a walk or playing in the park can do much more for your kids’ imagination development.
Provide plenty of supplies
Children are naturally curious and they love to explore the world and play with interesting toys. So make sure to provide your child with plenty of opportunities to practice their creativity. Luckily, you can find cool toys at this
website and fill your kid’s room with all sorts of interesting and educational toys. Make sure to accompany toys with all sorts of safe art-supplies like non-toxic paint, markers and clay, so your kid can have a perfect environment for practicing their creativity.
Let them make choices
In many cases, your kid can think for themselves. Allow them to make small choices like choosing cups, clothing, snacks and so on. These choices give them confidence and encourage them to use their head when it comes to all sorts of different situations, art and creativity included.
Let kids be bored
Sometimes, letting your kids chill out is the best gift you can provide them. Free play is a great way to boost your kids’ confidence, social and emotional skills, problem-solving skills and creativity. So, make sure to reduce the amount of adult-led activities and provide your kids with more time for relaxing play, communication with siblings and having fun alone. Allowing kids to be bored is a great way for them to discover their passions.
Work on details
Free play is very useful, but it often lacks details. So, what you can do is help out a little and give your kids a chance to exercise their attention to details. For instance, you can offer kids a few intriguing scenarios and allow them to develop an elaborate story. It’s best if you start by saying something like “I’m Jenna, I moved here from Europe and I decorate cookies in order to pay for my hobby which is skydiving. I really love your restaurant”. This is fun for kids who usually turn to a generic pretend-restaurant play. Try to come up with recurring characters, create backstories and develop the diner. These scenarios will make your kid’s imagination skyrocket!
Manage your expectations
Don’t think a toddler can draw a good portrait of their family or come up with a story that has a logical plot and plenty of coherent details. Make sure to provide a safe space for their imagination to flow and give them a lot of stories with open endings.
All in all, playing with bold colors, listening to emotional music and doing everything with enthusiasm will definitely help. Soon, your child will surprise you with what their little brains can create.