In today’s world where it’s widely dominated by electronic gadgets like smartphones and tablets, many parents find their children simply consuming media rather than using their healthy young minds and limitless imagination in creative ways. The next sad thing is that parents always hit a mental dead-end when they try to devise ways to keep their children involved and excited while also stimulating individual creativity. Not all children have the same creative outlets, so you may have to try different activities, toys and games until you find the perfect fit for your child’s unique creative style. Below we have come out with a handy guide that lists out some of the best toys and activities for inspiring creativity in children, most of which can be tweaked and customized for your particular situation.
Puppet Theater
There are several commercial puppet theaters which can be purchased at online sites like Amazon.com, but if you have limited budget you can go with a large furniture box and some handmade sock puppets to create a home-based stage where you get your child to think of a story plot and watch your child put on an interesting show. Get other children to join in as well. This definitely helps to boost creativity, imagination and motor skill development, as well as physical interaction – a good way to detach your child away from those electronic gadgets.
Painting / Coloring Kits For Children
Most Painting kits and supplies can be purchased for less than $20 which makes it easily affordable for most parents but while they obviously have the potential for being very messy, they are definitely great for identifying the creative little artist hiding inside your child. Whether you discover that you have a little Picasso on your hands, or your child simply enjoys rudimentary painting, the actual exercise of painting has been shown to stimulate brain wave activity in ways that very few other activities can.
Digital Camcorder
If you think that the suggestion of a Digital Camera here is going to burn a big hole in your pocket… you can definitely rest assured that it will not because there are digital camcorders made specifically for children which are easy to operate, very inexpensive, and can help unleash the Steven Spielberg in your child. The ability to communicate effectively is a foundation which will help your child at every stage of his or her life, and encouraging the creative capture of video memories and the creation of unique stories will positively affect your child’s self-esteem as well.
Children’s Baking Set And/Or Oven
This is a toy which inspires supreme creativity in children, and is unique in that it is attractive to both young boys and girls. While you probably will not be able to build your own kids baking set, there are plenty of well-known, safe and popular retail choices available like those from Melissa & Doug. Aside from spurring creativity and self-expression, a children’s baking set (either with or without a kids oven) will pay creative dividends over a lifetime of cooking in the kitchen.
Kid Crafts
You will definitely not go wrong with this because the number of arts and craft-based toys and kits that are available for children is as limitless as your child’s imagination. You can simply choose from a simple shoebox activity kit to creating artwork with dried rice and pasta. Craft-based toys and activities will always be perfect for inspiring creativity in your children. There are several all-in-one arts and craft kits designed specifically for getting your kids creative juices flowing, many are very inexpensively priced, and some may provide just the spark needed for a lifetime of creative output.
Children often surprise with their incredible insight, and many have awesomely gifted minds which are home to creative skills that may remain stagnant if not inspired. Try introducing a few of the creativity-inducing toys and activities mentioned above into your child’s playtime activities, watch closely for signs of interest or boredom, and keep delivering stimulating choices until you find the perfect outlet for your child’s unique creative muse.