Channeling Creativity In Kids By Encouraging Their Curiosity How To Prepare Our Kids For The New Normal

We are living in uncertain times, with grim news all around us. But as parents, we have to focus on our kids and shield them in every possible ways. Their world has shrunk a lot more than ours and to keep them productive and busy is a challenge for all parents. Since both my kids are young, one challenge I faced was, how to enhance their creativity.

It is at this young age kids interact with the outside world, observe and learn. Their attitude and behavior is shaped by the external environment and all this has shrunk to a small screen on either a mobile or a laptop. Curiosity and imagination are the cornerstones of creativity and that has been challenged in this entire lockdown.y

So here are few tips I follow on a regular basis to ensure my kids are naturally curious and creative:

• Nurture creativity: Since creativity is a skill that is acquired, like any skill, it needs to be nurtured. Encourage imaginative plays through playing houses, puppets, aliens and action figures. Art and craft as a subject in school, which plays a major role in enhancing creativity, has taken a hit in this lockdown. Hence, give your child common household items and ask them to form interesting shapes, make a story of it. Be a part of their journey in nurturing creativity and follow this on a daily or weekly basis. “He/She who thinks, grows”
• Teach them what it means to be curious: Children learn from their external environment and in absence of it, you are their world, literally. So, be curious around them. Ask questions like why is the sky blue, why does their legs appear shorter in water. Be loud and vocal with your thoughts and ask them to join you in thinking
• Encourage questions: The classic mistake parents make is they shut down stupid questions. Your child questioning something is the first step of his/her creativity. Encourage and actively show interest in children questioning about anything and everything under the sky
• Guide not tell: The process of questioning should be followed by self-discovery of answer and that completes the process of creativity. When your child asks questions, do not always spell out the answer. Guide them to the answer and help them find it out themselves. The joy of answering one’sown questions is a beautiful journey
• Talk to them: Share your day with them. If you have had a bad or a good day at the office, explain it to them. This helps them to understand how people interact and the challenges. You are their eyes and ears of the outside world. Your experiences and stories are their source of imagination. Hence narrate to them, small details too. Children love stories, hence, enrich their creativity with real world stories
• Plan ahead and don’t worry about your children falling behind: We’ve really got to be kind to each other: we are in a huge transition and it’s extraordinarily difficult. I can sense the anxiety parents might have about children falling behind, but just make sure they do a little bit, often, so that they are still engaged in the daily routine of learning. Just remember to plan ahead for your little ones from all angles, their goals and their health. The current pandemic has taught us the importance of planning ahead. My kids are young now and have a lot of dreams and ambitions and it is my responsibility to nurture, grow and enable them. It is also my responsibility to plan for the same financially. Hence, I wanted a savings plan which gives me the dual benefit of investment and financial protection from any uncertainty. So, I started my search online and looked at a few review and rating platforms and also asked a few friends and zeroed down on ICICI Pru Assured Savings Insurance plan. The plan offers a lump sum amount on maturity to take care of my little-ones aspirations as they grow up. Additionally, the plan offers tax benefits and helps me save more every month. Lastly, the trustworthiness of a company like ICICI Prudential Life gives me the confidence to invest my hard-earned money in.

The lockdown has created an impact on all of us, specially our kids and hence it is all the more important for us to ensure our kids keep growing, keep thinking. Hence small steps like these will ensure what is essential for their growth does not stop. A step in the right direction towards preparation goes a long way in our little one’s growth and development – Kyunki agar tyaarisahi ho, tohjeetpakkihai.

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