Creative Babies

Helping Children Learn to
Express Themselves

By Lisa Goldstein

Let your children watch a lot of television. Don't talk to them, and definitely don't expand on their natural interests. Be rigidand create an environment that has little to no structure. Follow this advice only if you want to stifle your children's creativity.

"We don't just want little robots who can parrot back everything we say," says Dr. Harvey Karp, associate professor of pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine and author of The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer (Bantam, 2003). "We want them to be able to take ideas and juggle and rearrange them."

As parents, you can help develop this creativity when your child is less than a year old. Creativity starts in early infancy. It's not so much a matter of when it starts, however, says Brittany Birken, who has worked in the field as a teacher, director, trainer and researcher. Birken, who currently leads Florida's efforts for providing consumer education and referral services to families and childcare providers, says it's how the continuum of development progresses as children build creativity through their exploration of themselves, others and the world.

Why is creativity important? "It's an expression of one's self," says Birken. "Creativity is not just about drawings and art, but fundamentally about the way we think and process information. Building a child's creativity allows her to be confident in approaching novel or challenging experiences. Rather than rejecting such experiences, children who have been encouraged to be creative are able to hypothesize, test and retest until they come to an acceptable end."

Creativity requires interactivity, says Dr. Karp. According to Birken, you can start by observing your child at play. Notice what interests him. Talk to him about the objects that interest him. Help him play with the objects and manipulate them. Understanding that children explore through their senses is critical. At 8 months of age, offer your child a small piece of fruit. Help him to smell it, and then encourage him to feel the texture. Talk about the color, and then offer him a taste. "Believe it or not, this simple activity is stimulating your young baby and encouraging creative thinking," says Birken.

"It is not necessary to purchase special videos or toys," Birken says. "Simply allow your child the opportunity to explore." When feeding a 6-month-old cereal, don't rush to clean her mouth or worry if she gets her hands in the oatmeal, she says. Allow her to explore this new material and fully engage in the experience.

Want to see more?

• Play Is Not a Four-Letter Word: Remembering the Importance of Playtime
• Artsy Baby: A Diverse Learning Experience for Children
• Two Much Fun!: Games and Play for 1-Year-Old Twins
• Talk about it!