The Role of Family in a Child's Creativity

“When a creative child is born into such a family, the family will change “in terms of what the family wants and has been doing” (Dacey and Lennon, 1998)

Chapter 3 of the text offers many ways the family contributes to the creative child in the form of theories, empirical studies and research studies. One thing is true is that no one thing brings about the circumstances of developing a creative child. For example, simply going to a special school would not guarantee a particular outcome. What is interesting is that “creative children suffer a larger number of traumatic incidents than ordinary children do” (Dacey and Lennon, 1998). The text also points out various activities that illustrate achievements of highly creative youth such as choreographing, producing a radio show, and playing the lead in a play on multiple occasions). This chapter also identifies types and examples of creativity in terms of figural sculpture, symbolic mathematics, semantic journalism, and social psychology terms. These would be children with an aptitude for architecture, music, playwriting, and teaching.

Another concept on creativity that was presented in this chapter was “nature versus nurture” which supports the position that “environmental factors such as parenting style and home atmosphere play a greater role than genetics in determining creativity” (Darcey and Lennon, 1998). The environmental factors can from abuse, poverty, and handicap.

Thomas Edison said that creativity is “one part inspiration and ninety-nine parts perspiration” (Dacey and Lennon, 1998). I tend to agree. In layman’s terms, creative people are hard workers and do not just rely on their talent or hope for the best in a final outcome. Creative youth put a lot into their entire presentation from the groundwork to footwork.

Reference:
Dacey, J. and Lennon, K. (1998). Understanding creativity: The interplay of biological,
psychological, and social factors. Jossey-Bass. (pp. 16, 18-19)