Good decision-making skills can also help to inspire creativity in your kids. When your child has a decision in front of him or her, try presenting a few good options and asking your child to weight the benefits and downsides of each one.  For example, if your child wants to get a treat in the grocery store, you might encourage him or her to choose between three healthy options, such as a granola bar, a bag of dried fruit, and a container of yogurt covered nuts. Having good choices to choose from will ensure that your child makes a good choice while also allowing your child to imagine the benefits and downsides of each option. This process may help your child to develop his or her creativity. Encouraging your child to look at a problem from many angles can also encourage creativity. If your child has a tough decision to make, try sitting down with him or her and talk about the decision. Encourage your child to look at every option and to look at the pros and cons of these options.  Don’t make the decision for your child, just help him or her to select the best choice by discussing options together and asking questions to encourage your child to think critically. For example, you might ask, "What do you think that outcome of that decision would be?" And, "What benefits does this option have over the other options?" You may also want to sit down with your child again after the decision has been made and talk about how it turned out and whether or not your child still thinks it was the best option. For example, you can ask something like, "Knowing what you know now, would you still make the same decision? Why or why not?" Presenting your child with hypothetical moral dilemmas can also be a good way to help your child to build his or her decision making skills and nurture creativity at the same time. You can encourage your child to examine multiple possible decisions, consider the potential outcomes, and decide which one he or she would choose.  For example, you might ask your child to imagine what he or she would do if a friend cheated on a test. Should your child tell on the friend? Confront the friend about cheating on the test? Or say nothing? Encourage your child to look at the pros and cons of each hypothetical option. For example, what might be the positives of telling on a friend? What might be the negatives? It may be tempting to step in every time your child makes or is about to make a mistake, but your child will not learn anything if you do this. Instead, try to step back now and then and let your child make his or her own mistakes. What your child learns from these experiences will offer valuable lessons about decision-making and it may help to inspire your child’s creativity as well. For example, if your child decides to use his or her free time after school playing video games instead of tackling a difficult homework assignment, then don’t interfere. Allow your child to deal with the consequences of that decision on his or her own.
امنح طفلك اختيارات جيدة. درِّب أطفالك على اتخاذ القرارات الصعبة. استخدم الأمثلة الافتراضية. اجعل طفلك يتعلم من اختياراته الخاطئة.