Habits by Helene Goldnadel That Curb Your Child's Creativity

When it comes to recognizing intelligence as more than doing well in school, we've come a long way baby. No longer is the kid who sits in the front of the class answering all the questions considered the smartest in the bunch. At last, Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences has finally penetrated the masses. Teachers now know that the world's future dancers, artists, architects - even politicians - are just as smart as the teacher's pet

If that's so, then why do we find so few children that are highly creative?

Maybe it's because we parents are engaging in some bad habits that literally crush our children's creativity, almost from the moment they are born. If we want our children to truly be creative-even the therapists, landscapers, and animal whisperers-then here are habits mentioned by Helene Goldnadel that we need to avoid like the plague:

You can't build a bike and ride it at the same time. They're two completely different activities. Likewise, creating and evaluating are activities that take place literally on opposite sides of the brain. So whether your child is in the process of creating a new dance move or a new recipe, save the critique for later.

In the same vein, you can encourage your child not to worry about what other people will think while they are in the throes of inspiration. Reassure them that there will be plenty of time to check out their work when they are ready.

So your child has thought of something that goes against all the rules? Get over it. Throughout history some of our greatest inventors have bucked the norm, and in doing so, given the world some of our most important discoveries.

Let your child work it out on his own, and if his theory doesn't work out, he'll find out soon enough.

There's really no way around it: at first, you'll suck. There's no question about it because everyone when they first start out sucks. Mozart, Picasso, John Steinbeck: everyone starts out a long ways away from where they end up.

So help your child get over the idea of not succeeding every time. Hold a red-letter failure party, if you have too. Just make sure they understand that failure is crucial to success. Not only does it force your child to reconsider the problem from a different (possibly better) angle, but without failure there would be no success.

Most people like to remain in the comfort zone. They naturally shy away from anything that is unfamiliar, or doesn't make sense. Sometimes, though, the act of creation involves quite a mess: think of finger paint, for example, a product that many mothers wish were illegal.

However, in order for your child to create, he (and you) need to learn how to tolerate a little mess and confusion. Order out of chaos, construction out of destruction; sometimes the process is more important than the product. So get out those aprons, and let the games begin.

In children, lack of confidence is often tied to a need for perfection. One mother recounted how her daughter as a young child, refused to draw pictures of people. She began to worry if maybe there was some deep psychological reason for this, and so she dug out a picture of a child's drawing to show her.

She was floored when she looked at the stick figure and literally laughed out loud. "Mommy, that doesn't look ANYTHING like a real person!" she stated, indignant. "That's a ridiculous picture."

Occasionally lack of confidence in children may also be due to a need for approval. Some children fear rocking the boat, lest they be asked to dock at the next shore. Reassure them it's okay to make mistakes, and make sure they know you love them because of who they are-not for what they produce.

Okay, it's true: sometimes other people can be real downers. Whether they intend to or not, some people have a tendency to pick on the negative and ignore the positive. Be your child's rock: help her weather the storm of people who feel threatened by your child's willingness to tackle the unknown. If necessary, keep things under wrap until you have to.

A woman who has a disabled child once talked about the struggles she faced when she realized there was something wrong with her child. Searching for a diagnosis, she noticed that every professional gave a diagnosis consistent with their specialty.

Sometimes we can only see what we are used to seeing. It takes a lot of effort to break out of the mold and do a little bit of "lateral thinking," but with practice, it can be done. You can help your child think out of the box by encouraging them to imagine they are someone else. Make up a name, a city where they live, and a fake history. Then help them to put themselves in that person's shoes through role-play.

Next, present a particular problem or issue, and guide them in imagining how their character would respond. Not only will your child learn how to step out of their self-made corrals, but they will also gain a valuable interpersonal skill. Feeling overwhelmed because you have a few of these bad habits? Don't sweat it. Try tackling a new problem each week, rotating back to the first one after the last habit.

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