The answer to this question requires courage in admitting that children’s creativity may die at the hands of their parents or teachers. Certainly, this will not be intentional, nor even direct, but rather - as usual in such cases - creativity dies as a result of incorrect educational practices, passed down through generations without awareness of the consequences of these practices on the level of the child’s thinking and behavior. These practices include the following:

1- Continuous monitoring:

 When you monitor your child excessively, and make him feel that you are with him, seeing him, hearing him, and following him in everything he does, he will not dare to express his opinion, or reveal his new ideas. He will be afraid to be different, he will not open the box, and he will always be afraid to take some kind of risk. 

2- Permanent evaluation:

Whenever you make your child anxious about his level, calculate his grades, and collect reports for him, you are - without realizing it - setting a framework for his performance that forces him to remain within it, so he thinks stereotypically and works traditionally, keen on the level of performance, not seeking the pleasure of learning and the joy of discovery, so creativity dies, and the child joins the list of ordinary children.

3- Many rewards: 

There is no doubt that rewards are important as a means of motivation and increasing drive, but they should be surprising and timely, meaning that they should not be offered frequently, but rather from time to time.

Think about it; if your child is always waiting for you to give him money at the end of his homework, and if he is expecting a “new toy” to be placed on his bed after he successfully completes the assigned activity, he will not enjoy the activity, and he will not be keen to be creative in it, or think about it more than enough to qualify him for the reward, whatever it may be.

So why not make the activity assignment the reward? Why not say, “You’re great today, you’re so energetic, so I’m going to reward you with this activity, so have fun and be as creative as you can.”

4- Intense competition: 

It is good to put the child in a competitive arena; this will fill him with enthusiasm and excitement, and make him discover his abilities and potential. Competition also helps him focus on a goal, teaches him how to deal with loss, how to develop his skills, and how to work within a group. 

But on the other hand, constantly involving the child in competitions, and overestimating the winner at the expense of the loser, may make him keen on winning just for the sake of winning, may make him lose his self-confidence, may reduce his self-esteem, may arouse aggression in him, and most importantly, he will lose the fun, and will always be under pressure. 

5- Excessive control:

Simply put, when a child is constantly told how to do things, when, and where, he will lose confidence in himself, and will always feel that he might make mistakes if he does not receive guidance from someone, and that any new discovery is a waste of time, because he does not know, and will not succeed unless he seeks help from someone.

6- Mandatory options: 

Determining what activity a child should do is a kind of forced choice, just like homework, which makes the child feel bored while solving it, and may even avoid it. Therefore, it is preferable to take their opinion into consideration about the nature of the activities that arouse their curiosity and that they want to do or solve. Thus, they will feel pleasure and solving the activity will have a different taste. Who knows.. This may be the beginning of their path to a unique discovery or creative production.

Also - on a larger scale;

Try not to pressure your son to be the man you were not, and strive to achieve your ambition through him to be a doctor as you wanted, or a pilot as his mother always dreamed of, because such behaviors are likely to exhaust the son, put pressure on him, and bury his creativity, especially if the specialization or field does not suit his inclinations or interest him.

7- Unreasonably high expectations:

 High expectations of a child may not only make him miss out on fun, but may also frustrate his talent, because he will feel its burden all the time, and it may frustrate him. It indirectly sends him a message that he is not talented, and that he is below the level of expectations.

So, out of compassion for your child and to preserve his talent, accept him as he is and encourage him to do his best, not to get the best grade or be like “Ahmed, the neighbor’s son.” 

From this, we conclude a logic in education that says: If you can develop your child’s creative abilities, then be absolutely certain that you can also frustrate them without realizing it. So, be aware of your actions, and always make sure to study them well, far from effort and direct, unstudied actions. The spirit of creativity is exactly like a flower, it needs care and attention, and without it it may wither and die. 

A moment to think:

After reading the seven reasons above, stop and think about your actions and the way you deal with your children or students, then judge them and try to deal with them in a more positive and effective way, and most importantly, one that is more stimulating for creativity.