Creativity gives children the confidence they need to succeed in life. In fact, more than 1,500 CEOs say creativity is commerce’s most critical leadership skill. This life skill needs to be nurtured from a young age. We need to build creative confidence in the early childhood development playroom.
“Creativity is something that we need to practice. We need to nurture this innate quality in our children, whether it’s through playing with construction toys, drawing, and colouring in, or even role-playing,” says Miroslav Riha, country manager for The LEGO Group in South Africa.
Interestingly, some studies find that creativity declines with age – perhaps because children are taught to be more cautious and analytical as they progress through their school years.
Creative play sees children introduce their own rules. This promotes a sense of autonomy, and helps them develop cognitive flexibility and perspective, Riha explains. “While these are certainly not the aims of play – they are by-products of play, with the process helping children explore new ways of doing things, which builds their creative confidence.”
Read more about 5 ways to play differently
New experiences
Creative play also helps children create new experiences. They build their confidence as they navigate evolving situations within their imaginary worlds. This subconsciously prepares them for the unpredictable adult world.
Riha echoes research by the LEGO Foundation, which highlights that, in the future, rote learning will be less important. Instead, we need to build creative confidence.
Future careers
“Workers will need skills like creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. These will be used with the traditional skills of reading, writing and arithmetic,” he explains. “That’s why we need to convince parents, teachers, and education regulators that learning through play empowers our young people to become the creative and engaged lifelong learners that the future world of work needs – particularly in an age where automation across disciplines and industries is increasingly ubiquitous.”
Riha says LEGO® DUPLO® bricks provide children with hours of endless fun, helping them think creatively.
