All this talk about living with a creative … what if you gave birth to one of those?
If you have one or more kids with a creative bent, you will know. What you might not know is what to do with “that” one.
Kids with creative bents are no different than other kids, but the spark of creativity inside them will make them a bit more intense and sensitive. Parents with creative bents will likely recognize the traits, but parents who aren’t creative themselves are likely to be scratching their heads over that one kid!
The kind of drama you’ll get with these kids will depend on how introverted or extroverted they are.
The introverted creative kids are painfully self-conscious and ultra-sensitive. They are a hit with grownups, because they are quiet, keep mostly to themselves, and generally do what they’re told. Because being good is the best way to shrink into the background and not draw attention to themselves. They only feel relaxed and normal when holed up alone in their room, doing their thing.
The drama that comes with these kids will be moodiness, touchiness, crying easily. They mostly live in their heads and, even though they are physically present in the room, they are most likely off in another world of their own. On the days when they are mentally and emotionally present, they are noticing, soaking in and evaluating every detail of what and who’s around them. When doing their creative thing, they are intense and focused, and labor over it, determined to get it just right.
The extroverted creative kids want attention. They live in their heads, too, but mostly it’s racing thoughts about what they want to do, how they’ll do it, and plotting and planning how they’re going to present themselves and their creations to the world, all while anticipating the reactions and accolades of their awaiting fans.
The drama that comes with these kids is simply trying to calm them down. All that creative intensity inside bubbles over to the outside in the form of pure energy. They can’t help it … they’re just too darn excited! They are easily distracted and, when doing their creative thing, they have trouble focusing and following through, because they have got to go show somebody!
These are the two extremes, of course, and most creatives fall somewhere in between. All creatives will have seasons of insecurity when they pull back from the world, because they can’t seem to get it right. Then they will have seasons when it all clicks, and they are super-excited and life can’t move fast enough for them … they’ve got to share their creations with the world!
Overall, I’d say having a creative kid in the house is pretty much like having a teenager around … only for ALL their years, and not just through their teens and puberty!
While true for any child, of course, creative children have a particularly tough time trying to figure life out and managing all that internal intensity.
But, hey, who’s in charge here? You’re the parent!
And as their parent, you can be the best ally they have …
Thank you.