Everything I’ve Learned So Far About Raising Creative Kids

August 14, 2026

creative kids drawing pictures on paper spread across the floorthe

I make my living painting with watercolours, illustrating greeting cards and designing stationery. But creativity has never been something I switch on for work and leave behind at the end of the day. Long before it became my job, creativity was something God placed within me.

I’ve always been creative, and creativity is naturally woven into the fabric of my everyday life. Just as naturally, creativity has become a big part of our family culture. Today, I’m going to share everything I’ve learned so far about raising creative kids.

Why Creativity Matters in Our Family

I believe we were created by a creative God, and one of the ways we are like Him is also being creative. We're made in His image (Genesis 1:27), and I believe every one of us has been given the ability to create. Some of us have gifts to paint, write books or compose music. Some of us will be creative in other ways. But we're all designed to imagine, solve problems, build, invent, and bring order and beauty into the world.

I don't want my children to grow up believing creativity is only for ‘artistic people’. I want them to know that creativity reflects something of God's character and that each of us has some of this inside.

What Creativity Looks Like in My Home

I certainly wouldn’t claim to be an expert on parenting! My children are still growing up, but over the last 12 years or so, I've noticed that creativity flourishes when it's treated as something ordinary rather than extraordinary. I try to focus on giving my children the opportunity and confidence to imagine, play and experiment, solve problems, make ‘mistakes’, and see the world with curiosity.

Running a creative business from home means they’ve seen the reality behind making things. They know that ideas don't magically appear fully formed! They've watched paintings go wrong and products get redesigned.

I love that they see creativity as a process rather than a talent only some people have. It’s literally ingrained in them, and they think differently as a result, persevering when something doesn't work, and finding joy in making things with their hands.

Creativity can be about producing visual art, and we love hanging their work on the fridge, but it’s so much more than this. It’s thinking outside the box and trying different approaches to bring an idea to life.

How I'm Passing Creativity On

Children learn far more by watching than by listening, so rather than setting out to ‘teach creativity’, I try to model living a creative life. This means making sure my own creativity isn’t limited to business ideas. I’m creative in the kitchen and I’m a passionate gardener. The children watch me prepare meals, decorate their birthday cakes, and they’ve come along to help choose plants, seeds and bulbs to cultivate the ground around our house.

I don’t present creativity as a special event – it really is part of our everyday family life. The kids see me jotting down ideas over breakfast. There is often a painting in progress at the kitchen table. They’ll walk into my home studio while I’m photographing products or packing customer orders after school.

We keep a ream of paper accessible in our living room, and the children are frequently writing down their own ideas for characters, stories, engineering projects, their ideal house or bedroom layout, song lyrics and poems, or even their own business ideas!

For my three boys, a lot of their creativity comes from the large box of LEGO we’ve accumulated. Most of the sets they’re given are made once and then repurposed into whatever they feel like inventing that day. The things they come up with, and the stories they tell with their creations, astound me!

I try to resist the temptation to fix things while they’re in progress or comment when I think something won’t work. Often, the most creative ideas come from failure. I love how willing the children are to experiment, and I also love the fact their ideas give me an insight into their worlds, their thoughts, and their brains. We often end up having great conversations about big themes like heaven and what things were like before God created the world.

What I’ve Learned About Raising Creative Kids

close-up photo of child playing with colourful Magna-Tiles

1. Let Them Be Bored

It can feel uncomfortable at first, but boredom is often the birthplace of imagination. If you can get past that urge to give them something to do, and put up with a bit of complaining, it reaps great rewards.

Without constant entertainment, children begin inventing games, building dens, drawing comics or creating stories.

Some of their most imaginative afternoons have started with the words, ‘I'm bored’. Similarly, some of our best adventures have started with the words, ‘no, I HATE walks!’

Let them be kids, let them be bored, and get outside for a ‘walk’ which quickly becomes an entire imaginative world.

2. Always Have Art Supplies Within Reach

Nothing kills creativity faster than having to ask permission every time inspiration strikes. We keep paper, pencils, paints, scissors, tape and scraps of card where the children can easily reach them.

The goal isn't keeping everything tidy (although I do try, and expect them to clean up after themselves, especially when they choose to paint!). It's making art feel accessible.

3. Celebrate the Process, Not Just the Finished Result

Children quickly pick up on whether we value the process or only the polished outcome.

I try to comment on their ideas, perseverance and imagination rather than simply saying, ‘that’s lovely’. Questions like, ‘tell me about this’ or "how did you think of that?’ often spark much richer conversations, especially with my 8-year-old, who has incredible worlds inside his head that often can’t wait to burst out and be shared.

4. Spend Plenty of Time Outdoors

Some of my favourite creative inspiration comes from nature, and I want my children to notice that too. Frequently, we go to the forest, and the biggest imaginary games begin. They love to make up games like Ninjas or Minecraft IRL. I love how the natural world encourages observation in a way screens rarely can.

5. Help Them See Creativity Has Value

Because they watch me run my business, my children understand creativity isn't ‘just a hobby’. They've helped pack greeting card orders, watched new products arrive from UK manufacturers, and even posted parcels at the post office. They see that creative work can encourage people, celebrate life's milestones, and even become a business that serves others.

Two of my kids have the ambition of taking over And Hope Designs when they grow up, and the other two have decided they want to go into business together – they will have a farm, with a coffee shop. They will do all the baking and the farming and make some of the things they will sell. It doesn’t matter that they will definitely not have enough time in the day to do all this! They are dreaming big and coming up with creative ideas to make a living.

We don’t shut their dream down. They will eventually realise this isn’t realistic and hopefully come up with solutions and compromises to build something they love that’s also sustainable. Or they will give up on the dream completely and do something else. They are only 7 and 8, after all. But I love to see them planning their lives and creatively coming up with things they want to do.

My Biggest Lesson

If there's one thing parenting has taught me, it's that creativity grows best in an atmosphere of freedom rather than pressure. Children don't need constant activities or expensive craft kits. They need permission to make a mess, try something new, and discover what they enjoy.

As a watercolour artist, I've spent years learning that every painting begins with a blank sheet of paper. Raising creative children feels much the same – each of my four children are different and they all use their creativity differently.

My prayer is that my children grow up with the confidence to use whatever gifts God has given them. Not to show off, but to make much of Him.

Whether they become artists, teachers, engineers, nurses, parents or something I can't yet imagine, I hope they'll approach their work as they do now – with imagination, excellence and joy because they know those qualities reflect the God whose image they bear.