Nurturing the creative spirit is an important part of being a creative family. It is a great opportunity to build relationships and spend time together. There are four creative relationships that have to be balanced and nurtured. They are: the creative self, the creative spouse, the creative child and the creative family.
Nurturing the Creative Self:
You can only nurture creativity in others if you are inspired, charged up and embracing your own creativity. The easiest way to get into the creative spirit is to have a place of your own where you are free to create.
It can be a physical place, set aside for you to practice and nurture your own creativity. Or it could be a special time set aside where you can focus exclusively on yourself, your own hobbies and creative passions.
By nurturing your own creativity you are creating the tools necessary for encouraging creativity in your child.
Regardless of if your sanctuary is a place or a time, respect it and honor your commitment to creativity. This can be difficult if you have grown accustomed to taking care of everyone else in your house 24-7. It may take some training but if you respect your creative time, your family will come to also.
Nurturing the Creative Spouse:
There are two keys to nurturing and supporting the creative spouse.
First, providing the time and space for your spouse to practice their own creativity. Just as you need to nurture your creativity, so does your spouse. Sit down and find time in your schedule for each of you to have personal, uninterrupted creative time.
One family I know with older children sets aside an hour of personal creativity time each night after supper. After the hour is up they get together for dessert and a chat about how their individual creative pursuits are going.
If you have younger kids you may have to trade off watching them and having your creative time. This is a great chance to nurture your kid’s creativity!
Keep in mind that your spouse or child’s idea of engaging creative activity might be different then yours. Be supportive of their process, even if you don’t understand their areas of creativity.
Second, nurturing creativity within a relationship is the best foundation you can provide for a creative family. Finding common areas of creativity and engaging in creative activities together (without kids) is key! Exploring your creativity together gives you new shared experiences, new things to talk about and new ways to feel like a stronger team.
Make a date of it! Take a couples massage class, or an adult education course on a shared interest. Explore new places together, get creative cooking in the kitchen together. The couple that creates together, stays together.
Nurturing the Creative Child:
Engaging in creative activities one-on-one with your child is a great way to inspire creativity and make them feel special. You can introduce them to creative pursuits that you enjoy or find new creative activities to try together. It is a great opportunity to let yourself go and create in playful way while making memories that will last a lifetime.
Nurturing the Creative Family:
Every day presents many opportunities to practice creativity as a family. Looking for new ways of doing common activities can make life more exciting and bring you closer as a family.
Dinner time presents a great chance to get the family all in one place and engaged in creative discussions. Over dinner you can plan creative outings, brainstorm and tackle family issues (such as creative ways you can save money as a family for an upcoming trip or family purchase) or just have a good time communicating. If you are all involved in creative activities, there will be plenty to talk about!
Nurturing your families creativity is an excellent way to come together and sets the foundation for a creative, extraordinary life. I hope this post has given you some ideas.
How do you nurture creativity within your family? Please leave a comment below!