subject: Help Your Child Expand Their Imagination [print this page] Author: Inger Fountain
Children today have access to more stories, narratives and creative output than any generation previously. But saying a child is imaginative just because they absorb and enjoy somebody else's creation is not necessarily true. For a child, and indeed for an adult, it's a great leap to move from appreciating a wide range of creations to being able to create something of their own. It takes a great deal of courage and support for a child to create something and then an even greater leap to share their creation with others, including their peers and adults. For a parent there are a few simple ways we can encourage creativity and nurture imagination in our children, but you may have to think outside of the box. The biggest leap of faith is to start to remove children from constant exposure to other's creations. We can see these computer games, cartoons, movies etc as "inspiration" and in many ways the best of these narratives can be truly inspiring. But there needs to be a healthy balance.
A constant schedule of sitting immersed in a story created by someone else does not allow a child to access and develop their own sense of creation. Once this exposure is reduced, children may move to the stage of "being bored" which is another way of saying "I have lost the ability to create for myself". This will pass. Provide guidance in areas of creation. Art, computer design (not games), animation software, painting, book making, writing, poster design, puppets, sewing. There are lots of options and one creative interest will feed another. The next time children watch an inspiring narrative someone else has thought of and developed, share the essence of creative process with them: "Someone thought of this idea and then came up with a story. How cool is that?" This is not just for kids. Many adults struggle with this same concept. We consume dozens of books, DVDs and TV shows but they are all meaningless unless we can use them as inspiration to start creating something of our own, however small our creations may seem.About the Author:
Inger loves to write and has been writing words on paper for quite some time. When the Internet came along she started writing online too. You can see her latest website which helps parents to choose the best puppets for kids and also doorway puppet theater products for easy puppet performances at home.
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
