Children's Creativity: Nurturing Autonomy, Pride, and More

Children's Creativity: Nurturing Autonomy, Pride, and More

Children's Creativity: Nurturing Autonomy, Pride, and More

Creativity enriches children’s lives in many ways, including bolstering their sense of self and motivation to learn. Discover how to reinforce and augment your child’s creativity.

“I painted this myself!”

Children who choose to be creative and who become excited about their endeavors and pleased with the outcomes are primed to continue to find outlets for creative expression. Pride in accomplishment can foster ongoing engagement, and increase levels of productivity, complexity, and autonomy. In short, kids gain self-assurance and learn to be independent.

Parents can encourage their child’s creativity, motivation, confidence, and skill-building. Here are some practical suggestions.

Picture by Cara

1. Help your child embrace intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivators are internal to the person experiencing them. Curiosity, self-actualization, satisfaction, joy, and pride can result from being effortful. Any or all of this, in turn, can trigger additional effort, and achievement. The thrill of learning, doing, creating, and accomplishing can springboard initiative and increase competence, thereby enhancing motivation. One drawing, dance, melody, or poem can lead to another, and another... “Parents support a powerful form of intrinsic motivation to learn when they encourage children and adolescents to think about who they uniquely are, and then guide them in finding good pathways to advance their enthusiasms.”

2. Consider the level of challenge.

Children learn best and are more apt to be creative when tasks and activities are suited to their interests and abilities. It makes good sense to co-create expectations. Are they clear? Do they align well with your child’s strengths and prior knowledge? Are they attainable, and are the timelines reasonable given whatever else might be going on in your child’s life? Preparation, pace, and complexity have a bearing upon whether a person becomes involved in a creative undertaking, or not. Children’s motivation can be driven by their aspirations, but the best journeys are the ones that they can manage.

3. Encourage a growth mindset.

Demonstrate by your own actions the importance of welcoming opportunities that entail trying something new or difficult, and then persevering. This will help your child come to appreciate the value of working hard, and also understand that things that matter can take time and patience. Success is defined variably, and it can be attained from improvement and progress, and by overcoming obstacles—not just by completing a task.

4. Pivot.

Kids can find unconventional outlets for their creative ideas, talents, and energy. Help your child explore possibilities for creative expression in new areas. Bring on the fun, and maybe even share in it! For example, playing an instrument can be the impetus for forming an online band. Designing puppets can be the first step toward composing a play or building a puppet theatre. Craft projects can become community service ventures, such as making and selling bookmarks with proceeds going to a good cause, crocheting blankets for animals in shelters, or painting rocks in bright colors to brighten the gardens of nursing homes. Nature photography can become a starting point for journaling and learning about birds, weather patterns, flowers, wildlife, and more.

5. Provide feedback.

Offer guidance, constructive comments, genuine praise, and encouragement as your child advances from one stage of an activity to another. This might involve revisiting goals, breaking tasks down into smaller parts, learning to be resilient, prioritizing, mitigating risks, inviting collaboration, taking relaxation breaks, or finding other means that will enable your child to feel comfortable. Help your child learn to eventually monitor their own progress over time. This will instill confidence, which is a precursor for independence and pride.

6. Other strategies for maximizing children’s creativity.

Consider whether the following aspects apply to potential creative activities that your child may want to pursue:

• Open-endedness, with optimal possibilities to figure things out on their own

• Relevance (real, authentic significance)

• Opportunities for collaboration and sharing

• Investigative and hands-on experience

• Accessibility of materials to enrich the learning process

• Elements of surprise or wonder, inviting fresh perspectives and use of imagination

• Freedom to ask for help along the way

Children can flourish when they’re in an environment that’s welcoming, resource-laden, and sensitive to their particular areas of strength and weakness. “Kids thrive in relaxed settings where they have the freedom to explore, play, and create on their own terms, independently as well as with others.” When children take it upon themselves to tackle something creative, they can experience fulfillment and accountability, and also pride and autonomy. These outcomes are important for empowering learning across domains, in the early years, and throughout the lifespan.

Author’s Note:

The two quotes within this article are from the upcoming book by Dona Matthews and Joanne Foster: Being Smart about Gifted Learning: Empowering Parents and Kids Through Challenge and Change. This 3rd edition of the award-winning Being Smart will be released in fall 2021. Information about the book is now accessible on the publisher’s website here.

For additional articles, links, and resources on creativity, learning, productivity, and more, visit the Resources Page of Joanne Foster’s website at

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