Every Child Is An Artist..... Rejoice In Their Creative Souls!

Every human is innately born creative. Babies stare in wonder at the world around them.... in awe of all that they see. Fascinated by everything... both big and small. Young children have imaginations limited only by us. They create castles in the sky and visit far away galaxies in their cardboard space ships. They see the world in all its beautiful glory and are inspired by everything they see. One sad truth I have see in my 42 years is that its us adults that that steal their amazing creativity. We chip away at it a little at a time year after year. Stop playing... clean your room... grow up... you are too old to play with that toy.... you need to study not draw. None of they things that we say to them is wrong.... we aren't bad parents. We want whats best for them. We want to teach them responsibility, prepare them to become adults and get them through school. There are only 24 hours in a day and they don't have time to always play and draw and sing and all that fun stuff. You want them to have fun but you need them to get homework and chores and sports and all that important stuff done too.  

But here is the problem. Every time we stop them from day dreaming, criticize them for telling make believe stories, tell them to stop drawing, stick a tablet in their hands instead of a crayon, or help them "fix" their artwork because its just not quite right... we teach them that they are not creative enough and we shape them into little clones of us and tell them it is not ok to be unique in their own way. Slowly with every comment or every correction, they no longer use that imaginative little mind... and slowly over time they loose loose the ability to be creative thinkers completely.

I need to tell you a secret.... creative thinkers think outside of the box, problem solve quickly, aren't afraid of changing and adapting to that change, they are given promotions faster and are hired at amazing jobs. Now more than ever employers want and need creative people working for them. If we continue to chip away and strip them of their creative sides now... they will not have that creativity when they need it most. And here is the big secret.... we as parents or teachers or caregivers can find balance between responsibilities and creativity. If you let them day dream and make up amazing make believe stories, they will write more creatively and in turn will write interesting essays that can help them land better colleges. If you let them draw and paint and use art journals to express their emotions, they will learn how to get emotions out vs. bottling them up. This will allow them to become better communicators, give them higher levels of self esteem and will help them fight off the ever growing levels of depression in young adults. If we allow to be themselves, allow them to express themselves, we are also allowing them to be more rounded adults who are secure in who they are. And guess what? Employers LOVE these types of individuals. They LOVE and hire innovative young adults that help them grow and change in the is fast pace new world we live in.

It is never too late to change. Start encouraging your children to be creative in whatever way is best for them and for you. Did they make a castle in the sky while day dreaming? Encourage them to draw a picture of what it looks like after they spend 10 minutes cleaning their room. Do they play dress up and have tea parties? Sit down with them for just 10 minutes and have some "tea" and show them that its ok to pretend... the go "wash" your dishes along with the dinner dishes together. Start an art journal with them and you each spend 10 minutes a day together working in your own journals after diner , before bed or better yet as a reward for getting homework done. Join an art class with them, enroll them in an art club or a summer art camp or an after school art program once a week. Get them music lessons, buy them a scrapbook to add their photos to and encourage them to write interesting quotes and poems to go along wight he photos. These are just a few ideas and examples of how to reverse the damage and teach them that it ok to be their unique... creative... imaginative... and amazing selves! Slowly... in subtle ways that do not take a long time you are teaching them that its ok to be themselves and believe it or not... you are spending quality time with your children that doesn't involve electronics, driving, or spending lotos and lots of money. all the while instilling responsibility at the same time. BALANCE is the key. And it is obtainable.

Don't believe me? I am talking from experience. My almost 17 year old son is your typical teenager in a lot aways. He's been bullied, has self esteems issues, likes to lay around and its hard to get him of of his tablet or phone. We fight with him to clean his room or do his laundry. What can I say... he's a good kid, but he's 17. He loves to draw and create art, he loves to build things with his hands. And if I let him he will come with me to work at my art studio and sit in the back creating amazing things while I teach my classes. He gets up off the couch, puts down his tablet and uses that amazing mind when he comes. So.... I now tell him that he can come with me... but he has to have his chores done first. I never saw him clean his room so fast ...just so he could come. I encourage him to go to his friends house where they play guitars and dream of being rock stars.... after he mows the lawn. By doing this my son is becoming a happier and more emotionaly rounded young adult.... he's putting down the electronics.... and he's proud of himself. He de-stresses but also still learns to become a good man. Its all about BALANCE.