I read an interesting article the other day in The Knowledge Review, about how creative writing is the key to a child’s future success. Now, this may seem like a bold statement, but in an age where many believe the English language is being dumbed down maybe it’s now as far-flung as you think. Just think about it. Technology is for the most part sucking our kids (and probably us too!) into a basic level of communicating with emojis, and it’s pretty hard to hone your creative writing skills using your thumbs anyway. So surely the remedy to this is to encourage creative writing in children whenever possible?
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” – Phillip Pullman
The internet is awash with articles singing the praises of creative writing for children – it builds self-confidence, promotes self-expression, helps to clarify thoughts, encourages empathy, improves communication skills, and even helps to bolster mental health. That is all great stuff! But the question is, how do we encourage creative writing in children when they would rather be playing Roblox or Minecraft in their free time? Here we share some strategies to encourage creative writing in children which you can try out.
Tap into their imaginations
Sometimes when you simply just ask a child to write something, their minds come up completely blank. However, gives them a writing prompt or ask them to imagine a new character or world and they will be off and away! Here is a list of great creative writing prompts for children to get you started.
Have fun
And by this, I don’t mean you have to create an all-singing, all-dancing circus in order to convince your children to get stuck into some creative writing. Instead, you can find fun ways of encouraging creative writing in your children that takes the onus off you.
A great example of this is the Night Zookeeper online writing platform which is designed to inspire children at Primary School age to produce their best writing. Through gamification and competition, they are encouraged to practice their grammar, spelling, and composition skills. . Night Zookeeper is the perfect way to kick-start creative writing at home. Find out more and sign up to Night Zookeeper HERE.
Encourage self-expression
Children all to often live in a world of rules, rules and more rules. Let them know that in creative writing there are no rules, and they are free to express themselves without outside judgement. This is their chance to truly express themselves without an adult telling them what they can or can’t do!
Work towards goals
Depending on how your child is driven – and this won’t work for all kids – you could try setting creative writing goals. Be sure they are age-appropriate and that they are in line with their academic attainment – too hard a goal is incredibly offputting for small humans. Be sure to have a reward system in place for when they reach their goal. Take a look at our reward ideas here for some inspiration.
If your child baulks at the idea of goals, you could also reframe these as challenges or competitions.
Max out on positivity
Essentially, creative writing brings the magic and fun back into writing – and who can argue with that logic? Combine that with plenty of positive feedback from you, and they are sure to develop a love of creative writing, as they begin to associate it with that feel-good feeling and self-esteem boost of having their work celebrated.
When you spot your child doing a piece of creative writing be sure to make a big fuss about it with plenty of positive feedback (no criticism please!). Stick it up on the fridge, read it or send it family members, and celebrate it any way you can. This will help them tap into feelings of joy every time they sit down to create a piece of creative writing.
We hope you found these tips to encourage creative writing in children useful. We would love to hear in a comment which of these you have tried and had success with.
Don’t forget to grab your free trial of Night Zookeeper here
Picture credit: Photo by olia danilevich from Pexels
If you enjoyed this post, please consider supporting this site by buying us a virtual coffee.
