Are kids losing creative expression to academic pressure? How do you balance the two?
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A child’s imagination is always vivid and over the top; it’s one of the many things that come naturally to children. This imagination leads to strong creative skills; they can express themselves through coloring games for kids, crafts, songs, and dances. With education, they learn to apply themselves practically and their minds are conditioned to follow social protocol. Early learning teaches them the alphabet, numbers, colors, animals, shapes, parts of the body, and more. Later on, they learn academic subjects like math, science, geography, and history, among others. And to prepare them for the real world, they are introduced to in-depth learning of academic subjects from the lower grades itself. This is great to ensure that they excel academically, but the downside is that their creativity and imagination begin to take a backseat. With school, extra coaching classes, homework, and school projects do they have time to enjoy creative activities? You may think that creativity for kids is not essential and that if you engage them in some games and activities over the weekend, it’s going to be enough of a balance. And that would be alright but not ideal. Let’s look at some of the simple and small ways in which you can strike a balance between the two to ensure holistic growth.
Hobbies & Interests
When your children are toddlers or preschoolers, you will notice what they are inclined towards. Perhaps they enjoy music or coloring games for kids. Maybe they like playing with building blocks or solving jigsaw puzzles. There are many things that children enjoy doing, and some of those things will be their favorites. Of course, this will keep changing as they get older; they will find their passion as they keep exploring various skills and interests.
This is why parents need to encourage these hobbies and interests. If you think they have an ear for music, sign them up to learn a musical instrument, if they are quick and athletic, let them be a part of a sports team for kids, or if they enjoy playing with colors, they can go for a drawing/painting class. If you don’t want to enroll them in any formal classes, you can enjoy some home activities with them like arts & crafts, baking, gardening, etc.
Try to make time for these hobbies a few times in the week, maybe after school and homework. These activities will sharpen creative skills and keep their mind active, resulting in high mental well-being.
Social & Creative Activities
The next thing you should focus on is ensuring that your kids enjoy some creative activities with other kids. It’s great that they are learning many interesting subjects in school and will gain the confidence and cognitive abilities to be successful in life, but at the same time, it might be too much pressure. They should have the chance to release that pressure, preferably through creative and social activities.
Participating in theater groups, elocutions, school choirs, or in involving playdates creative activities like crafts, hand painting, coloring, etc. are great ways to promote creativity for kids. These kids’ games will help showcase their creative expression as well as build friendships.
Being around other kids will help them brush off the self-doubt and anxiety caused by academic pressure. Apart from having fun playing and laughing, they also learn values like teamwork, respect, empathy, and kindness. And that’s what we want our kids to learn, right? All parents want their kids to grow up into confident, brave, and kind adults.
Family Nights
One of the many things that worry parents is the fact that their kids might not be able to communicate with them. We think they are doing well at school as long as their grades are up. But sometimes, the academic pressure takes a toll on them emotionally and mentally, and they suppress those feelings. Kids need to know that they can communicate with their parents about their feelings without being judged or scolded.
One way to balance creative expression and academics in kids is by dedicating some time during the week for family fun. You could gather around with some hot cocoa and have a storytelling session, allowing your child’s imagination to run free. Perhaps you could decorate cupcakes or cookies on some nights. Or you could have a drawing competition with the family – the best drawing can be put up on the refrigerator! The sky’s the limit when it comes to creative activities for the family. These nights will surely make your child forget about that academic pressure.
Creative & Smart Screen Time
Creativity does not come and go in phases, it’s a continuous process and you can find ways to encourage creativity in everything the kids do. Of course, in small measures that also don’t overwhelm them. So, why not also look for it during their screen time as well. Screen time is inevitable but it must be regulated and can also be made more meaningful. With the help of smart learning apps like SKIDOS and many more, you can help your kids engage in smart learning content and creative activities to make their existing screen time healthy and relevant. It can be another great way to balance academic learning alongside fun playtime and also, allow a creative outlet together with it.
Creative expression is just as important as academic excellence. A balance of the two will open even more doors of opportunity for your child. Success is not only for those who are academically inclined; there are loads of creative careers like theater, photography, culinary arts, singing, and much more that are thriving. Kids need to enjoy their childhood, every aspect of it – studies, hobbies, kids games, social activities, etc. Through creative expression, they will find their passion and the things they enjoy the most, and with academics, they will thrive intellectually. This balance will ensure the well-being of your child.