I read a great blog post about nurturing creativity in your child. At this stage in my daughter’s life, there’s little that I enjoy more than watching her role play with her dolls or play with legos. I’m happy for her, that she is curious and creative about her surroundings and these are qualities that I want to nurture.
Let’s say, for discussion’s sake, that you can only nurture ONE quality in your child - or ONE at a time. Which one do you focus on at whatever age your child is right now? Is it compassion or curiosity or creativity? How do you practice this in your every day life? What are your struggles in creating an environment where these things can blossom in your child?
For me, the biggest challenge is letting go of direction and expectations of any activity going a particular way. I don’t want to direct my daughter how to play or how to see the world, but I want to create a world where she is encouraged to color outside the lines and to discover her own perspectives and help her understand how her actions impact others.
What are you encouraging?
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Right now, I’m all about encouraging her interest in the natural world. At 21 months, she finds everything outside to be amazing–her “rolys” (pillbugs), ants, and snails, and the plants in the garden, the new tree, the rain we’ve had all week, etc. I love that she can stare at an ant for a full 2 minutes without blinking and then look up at me like she just discovered a new galaxy.
I took Wyatt out after the rain too. He loves being outdoors as well…and the puddles and mushrooms growing under the tree were great discoveries. Love these little ones!