By: Jamie & Alex’s Camp
Feb. 1, 2023
Remember the day your little one came into the world? If you’re like many parents, you held that tiny being and felt an overwhelming sense of potential. A precious, chubby bundle of dreams, filled with possibilities. Maria Montessori once said: “Unlock a child’s potential, and you will transform them into the world.” Children arrive with all the promise of what could be.
Extensive research shows that kids possess qualities that often elude adults: boundless creativity, open-mindedness, and a thirst for knowledge. They ask more questions, make fewer assumptions, and approach life with a playful spirit — traits that foster immense creative, social, and emotional growth. However, the neural pathways that form during their formative years are largely pruned by the time they reach 17. While some pruning is necessary, it also diminishes their natural curiosity. In simpler terms, the wonder and creativity of childhood has a shelf life.
Today, creativity is more vital than ever. A recent IBM study revealed that 1,500 CEOs and world leaders unanimously agreed that creativity is the most crucial trait in our society. So, how do we nurture our children’s creative potential, which the world is in dire need of? Unfortunately, many of us squander it. The result? A society where “creativity” often resembles nothing more than an enhanced brunch Instagram post. (We’ve all been there!)
How We Stifle Creativity
First and foremost, we often educate creativity out of our children. In the most popular TED Talk ever, Sir Ken Robinson eloquently discusses how the educational system stifles creativity by confining kids to rigid structures. “By the time they become adults, most children have lost that creative capacity. They’ve learned to fear making mistakes. We stigmatize errors and create education systems where mistakes are seen as the worst things possible.”
We insist we know what’s best for our kids — what they should learn, how they should think. “Don’t question us,” we say. “Just memorize.” If knowing the date of the Battle of Hastings doesn’t seem valuable to you, well, clearly you haven’t watched a little show called ‘Jeopardy!’
Robinson emphasizes, “Creativity is as crucial in education as literacy, and we should treat it with equal importance.” Because let’s face it, we can’t all be trivia champions like Ken Jennings. (And maybe that’s for the best.)
But it’s not solely the schools’ fault. We, as parents, also play a significant role. Schools provide a convenient scapegoat for the constraints we impose on children’s creative expression. Sure, educational institutions may take time to evolve, but the reality is that kids spend only about a third of their waking hours in school. The rest of their time is filled with informal learning experiences, and we must acknowledge the ways we, as adults, influence their creativity.
Helicopter parenting is a prime example of this. Many parents micromanage their children’s lives, from doing homework to pestering college admissions officers. Julie Hartman, a former dean, authored a book on the dangers of “over-parenting,” highlighting its negative impact on child development. While we often associate helicopter parenting with indulgence, educational expert Alfie Kohn argues it’s more about excessive control over kids, failing to trust in their capabilities.
Impediments to Creativity
It’s not just the extreme cases of helicopter parenting; we all have a hand in diminishing the unstructured play that allows kids to make their own choices. Child psychologist Peter Gray notes that since the 1950s, there has been a steady decline in children’s free play due, in part, to increasing adult control over their activities. “In free play, children engage in what they want to do, and the learning that occurs is a byproduct of their experiences.”
Moreover, subtle nudges can accumulate over time, impacting our children’s creativity. Psychologist Martin Hoffman estimates that we inadvertently alter our children’s behavior approximately every 6 to 9 minutes, totaling around 15,000 times a year. Yikes! That’s hardly a formula for unleashing creativity.
The world is predominantly tailored for adults, and we unintentionally guide our children to think and act within narrow confines. We steer them away from asking questions, taking risks, and exploring with open minds. We find ourselves at a crossroads: kids are brimming with creativity, a quality our world desperately needs, yet we hinder their natural curiosity.
Embracing Trust in Our Kids
More than three decades ago, when Alex was a camp counselor, he decided to experiment with trust in a way that has become a cherished story. Campers were given the freedom to explore the nearby woodlands, with two simple rules: always take a buddy for safety and return within 60 seconds if they heard the camp’s airhorn. One day, the kids excitedly led Alex to their secret spot, where they had constructed an impressive three-bedroom fort from willow branches, a creation that surpassed all his expectations.
Trusting our children can indeed be a challenge. In today’s world, letting them roam free is often not as safe as it once was. And let’s not kid ourselves, trust is a constant experiment; it doesn’t always yield the desired results. There was that one time when we allowed campers to use tools and one ended up nailing his entire project to the floor, which made transport a bit awkward but still looked fantastic.
Nevertheless, it’s crucial to find ways to give our kids room to express themselves and learn to trust their judgment. They can never reach the vast potential we see in them if we don’t step back. We believe that by trusting children, we empower them to trust themselves and retain the childlike imagination that will guide them toward a more creative and fulfilling life.
This blog serves as an exploration of the complexities surrounding this sensitive topic. We call it The Trust Experiment because, despite our 37 years of experience running summer camps that prioritize children’s autonomy, we recognize that we don’t have all the answers.
We invite you to join us in this journey of discovery.
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Summary
Trusting our children can be a daunting task, but it’s essential for fostering their creativity and independence. While the educational system often stifles this potential, we, as parents, also play a critical role in nurturing their natural curiosity. Embracing trust allows children to develop confidence and creativity, guiding them toward fulfilling lives.