School has become very institutional. The creative side of kids is slowly being suppressed for a strong focus on math, science, and sports. However, having a child that is creative will tremendously assist in math, science, and sports. Helping foster a child's creative side will allow them to see problems and situations from a different angle. For example, a math word problem is every young student and parents nightmare. One word problem can disrupt an entire afternoon. This one word problem could stifle chores, sports, dinner, work, and much more. This scene normally ends with a parent in tears, a student feeling like a failure, and a schedule that has now pushed into midnight. If your child has a well developed creative side they learn to look at the word problem from different perspectives. This allows them to see it in a way that makes sense to them.

Video 1

This show her at 10 years old. In this video she did about 15% of the work mostly just the cooking aspect.

Video 2

Just 2 years later this video shows doing a similar task. This video she went to the store saw an ordinary box of cookie mix and decided to make a video. She came to me and said, 'Dad can I make a video?" In this video she did 90%. She was the creator, film crew, talent, talent agency, director, and editor. She created this video basically by herself.

When I think of creativity in science I think of Elon Musk. He takes problems and ask why not. He looks to find new ways for a project to fail. He attacks failure to find perfection. His perspective is due to having a creative thought process. The more I learn about Elon Musk it is apparent he has a very different perspective than others to solve problems. The proof is in the pudding. He is extremely creative but he is banking in the billions.

Sports is no different. At some level the physical advantages and the skill advantages fade. Speed and strength catch up then you are left with those that know how to win. Knowing how to win is being creative in the game. Trying and failing, till you find something that works. If all a basketball player can do is shoot a jumper the defender just needs to shut down his jumper. Then his ability to win is reduced. If that same player through dribbling, passing, and using the floor can create new opportunity to use his jumper his winning chances rise.

Many parents only foster one side. They either foster the creative side or the structured side. Parents that are very sport directed usually don't spend much time developing creativity. Hence, their child whom is great when they are a young athlete, will just blend in as they get older. The child who is more creative and then develops physically usually stands out later. They are more creative in finding ways to win. The other side is parent that spend all their efforts on being creative. This child usually shy's away from competition. They could be very helpful in helping find ways to be successful. However, they don't like the engagement. Hence very talented kids and adults never see their full potential.

As I have grown as a parent I have learned from my mistakes. Maliyah is child number 4 in line. She is competitive and creative. She enjoys both. Her competitive side has developed after many years of playing sports and learning to win but more importantly learning to loose. Having no fear of failure is Elon Musk secret to winning. The two videos above on this blog show the progress in her. My Final Tip is to seek balance. If you find that your child is moving in one direction then might be time to find ways to get them going the other way. In the end balance is the key.

Bonus tip

Let them fail. Life is 80% failure 20% success. Let them fail when they are young. Learning to deal with failure is a lost skill. Parents today have developed the thought that if their child fails they will be damaged in some way as they age. Not if you stay with them in the low times and find ways to be more successful together. They never truly fail as long as they learn from the experience. That is what Elon Musk is doing with Space X. He is learning from his failures.