Our future creators

"While the world teaches children to consume, We need to teach them to create"

This was a powerful quote I heard from the Founder of Everything's Education - Elaine Walker - during a seminar on the need for financial literacy for children (more on that seminar in a different post...)

Elaine's quote struck me. We live in an age of relentless consumption. Children are constantly bombarded with carefully curated entertainment designed to hold their attention for as long as possible while, simultaneously, reducing their attention span. How interesting!

Schools too, though well-intentioned, often favour rote learning over true exploration, preparing students to memorise the "right answers" rather than asking questions and exploring the reasons behind these "right answers". But the unspoken message is clear...Be a good consumer. Absorb what you’re given. Don’t question too much. Don’t stray too far from the model.

However, if we want to raise thoughtful, wise and courageous children, we need to reject this message. We need to teach children not just to consume, but to create. Consumption in itself isn’t wrong. We all need to learn from others, appreciate art, study history or enjoy a good story. But when consumption dominates a child’s mental diet, it dulls their mind and stifles creativity.

Passive consumption is comfortable. It’s easy. It asks nothing of us except attention and eventually, obedience to the values and ideas presented to us. When children are raised in this mode, they risk becoming absent minded followers of whatever is most popular or convenient. They may stop questioning what they see or hear and lose the ability to imagine anything different. This is how narrow-mindedness takes root. A child trained to only consume is taught to accept what exists as the limit of what is possible. They’re discouraged from challenging assumptions or dreaming bigger. When our children lose the habit of creating, they risk becoming robots, not inventors. Followers, not leaders.

We often forget that creativity isn’t just for artists or musicians. Creativity is the foundation of human progress. Science, technology, medicine, architecture, literature - these are all products of people who were and are willing to imagine new solutions and to bring them to life. More importantly, creativity is part of our design. We are created beings, made in the image of God Himself, who is the ultimate Creator. In Genesis, God said, “Let us make.” He spoke the world into existence. He formed, shaped and breathed life into us. We are not merely His products, we are His image-bearers. We have inherent worth, dignity and purpose. The impulse to create is woven into our DNA. To create is to reflect God’s own nature. We are all born with unique gifts, talents and imagination. Our role as parents, teachers and mentors is to help our children discover their gifts, develop them and use them for good. When we stifle children’s creativity (whether intentionally or through neglect), we deny them part of what it means to be fully human.

So then, the question becomes "how do we teach children to create rather than just consume?".

It starts with valuing curiosity over compliance. We should welcome questions, even hard or inconvenient ones. We should encourage experimentation and allow failure to be part of learning. Failure is a part of learning! Children need the freedom to try, fail, learn and try again. We can give them opportunities for unstructured play, for building things with their hands, for telling stories, drawing, designing, coding, performing...the list goes on. We can teach them to look at the world’s problems and ask, “How might I help solve this?”

Like I mentioned before, creativity is not only about the arts. It's also about critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration. It’s about equipping children with the confidence to say: “I can make something new. I can change this.” But...we also need to model this ourselves. Children learn most by watching the adults in their lives. If we want creative children, we need to show them that we, too, value learning, questioning, experimenting and creating. God didn’t design us to simply take what the world offers without question. He gave us the ability and the responsibility to shape the world for the better. To be stewards on the earth. In that sense, teaching children to create is declaring that they have something of value to offer the world, that their ideas matter, that they can partner with God in the ongoing work of making all things new.

Of course, this isn’t easy.

The culture around us thrives on passive consumption. Companies make money when children are quiet, entertained and dependent on someone else’s ideas. But as parents and educators, we must resist the easy path. It takes time and intention to nurture creativity. It requires patience to answer questions, to deal with the mess of art supplies, to watch failed experiments, to encourage a discouraged child to try again. To encourage ourselves. But it’s worth it!

We don't just want to raise children who will get good test scores or prestigious jobs. We want to raise people who can think for themselves, challenge injustice, imagine better solutions and build a better world. We want to raise people who can be a beacon of hope in our future generation.

We’re raising creators, not just consumers.