Encouraging creativity among adolescents is important to prevent them from becoming complacent and staying in their comfort zone. In fact, the earlier children begin to develop their creative abilities, the better, as it will be a skill they will need throughout their lives.
When we talk about creativity, it is not limited to painting, drawing, writing or performing any artistic task. It is not, because it refers to the human capacity to see everything through a different prism, looking for diverse and original solutions to common problems, for example.
To achieve optimal development of this capacity, the minds of children, young people and adults must be stimulated.
Discover how to foster creativity among teenagers
Before we begin to understand how to enhance creative thinking in young people, have we thought about the benefits? There are many. Among the most important, we want to highlight these:
- Activation of mental processes.
- Development of more and better cognitive abilities.
- Stimulus to enhance multiple intelligences.
- Creation and improvement of high self-esteem levels.
- Promotion of interpersonal and intrapersonal communication skills.
- Improved adaptability to the environment through a better understanding of the environment.
- Prevention of stressful or anxious states and improvement of the same, since it increases the capacity of reaction and the levels of empathy and resilience.
Let's learn how to foster the creativity of every teenager
Having said that, and knowing the benefits, let's begin to learn about some interesting activities that we can put into practice so that adolescents can assert themselves and find more appropriate ways to solve their problems.
Same object, different uses
If the young person looks for different uses for the same object, he could find an excellent formula to do the same with anything, situation, event, product... Although it may seem comical, it is stimulating to learn to use hats as flowerpots or tables as cupboard furniture.
Image capture
If we give a cell phone to the teenager and ask him to make beautiful videos and pictures, we will also be helping his creativity. In fact, we can go further in the proposal and ask him to prepare a script and make a small and simple montage with a sense of plot. That will make him think to reach creative and intelligent solutions.
Brainstorming
It is a technique used by many companies to devise new formulas for creativity and growth. It is a matter of providing solutions, not always real, so that, once we have a good number of them, we can select the ones that seem most interesting.
In brainstorming you can work with different people, all of them contributing even what may seem nonsensical. They do not necessarily have to be accepted, but it is true that it is a technique that fosters creativity, originality, stimulation, freedom of expression and teamwork.
Plastic techniques
We finish with the plastic techniques. Many children, when they get older, stop painting and drawing, and this is a mistake. Being able to express themselves through their art, even if it is not a talent they have, is always important because crafts help them to manage their emotions, to disconnect from their day to day life and, in short, to feel calmer and more relaxed, developing creativity along the way.
At Logos International School we have a psycho-pedagogical office composed of professionals with extensive experience and excellent training. Together we can create a suitable environment to foster creativity among adolescents and help them find their way in life towards adulthood in a complex time for children in which the difficulties to find their way seem greater, but they don't have to be so.