Do your kids write outside school? Come to think of it, maybe I should start by asking if YOU have been writing since leaving school (?) I mean creative writing, and not school related stuff, of course. Do you do any such writing? Does your spouse? Your kid(s)? If you said NO, read this article to learn why it’s – especially – in your child’s interest that s/he can say YES, to that question!

Traditional Schooling Stifles Creative Instincts

If I were to judge from my personal experiences passing through the conventional schooling system, writing was not so enjoyable. Neither was reading. Both tasks were directly linked to the need to earn credits or passing grades to get to the next level in school, or university. And of course to “graduate”.

Exams presented the mother-of -all reading and writing challenges for students.

In my case I was gifted with academic abilities, and did quite well right through my schooling years. But I never really derived pleasure from reading and writing for my studies, or the exams.

I noticed something back then: My deepest interests got stirred whenever I was able to put my own twist to things I had to read or write.

In other words, I discovered pleasure during my schooling years (especially in university) whenever I was able to apply my creativity.

But I knew not all my lecturers were likely to reward my “creative excesses” in this regard.

So whenever I took their tests or exams, I gave them back what they gave me (We joking called doing that, "return to sender" at the time).

But I held on to the extras I’d discovered on my own, to use in the real world.

This mental attitude helped me “protect” my innate creative instincts, from permanent damage in our educational system. I was lucky to emerge without having had my creativity beaten out of me.

Creative Writing Can Help Children Learn Better

More and more in today’s world, it’s become obvious. Creative (fiction and non-fiction) writing has useful benefits to people across all ages.

One key benefit is that it makes the writing process (and reading) more pleasurable.  And humans, being what we are, anything that genuinely gives us pleasure, can get our undiluted attention.

That’s why movies, food…and sex, tend to rate highly for many people. They can stay awake for them, even at the risk of endangering their health

Now, if at an early age people are taught to find pleasure in exploring their minds in creative ways, they could do magic. It’s already happening with kids (like these) whose parents have adopted this approach.

You Can Help Your Child Read/Write Better in Class, By Challenging Her to Write Outside Class

Once again I emphasise that it’s not necessarily strictly school related writing that I refer to here. Instead, it’s helping the child develop a sound writing (and thinking/reading) reflex that’s crucial. Once s/he makes that successful connection, independently applying it to his/her studies will take little or no effort.

For you, the priority will be to gently, and subtly, use incentives of all sorts to stimulate your child’s interest in writing something for you (and others) to read.

Stories often work best.

Tell him/her to come up with a different version of a story that s/he read or heard.

It could even be based on a real life movie you both watched. One that you noticed really caught his/her interest.

It May Take Time, but Keep at It, and Your Child Will Benefit

Make the gentle suggestions every now and then. Note however, that if my personal experiences, and observations from working with my own kids are anything to go by, you’ll get ignored for quite some time.

But, if you keep asking, you’ll be rewarded sooner than later, with a few scribbles on a page. When that happens, give encouraging feedback, and offer pointers on how s/he can improve.

Remember: Not everyone arrives fully formed with writing skills. So, exercise considerable patience. It’s not his/her prose that matters at this stage, but the story “ideas” s/he comes up with.

Coach him/her to present those ideas more articulately. Over time, s/he will become more proficient.

Your child may not go on to become a professional writer through this experience. The process is however very likely to boost his/her ability to read/write both in – and especially out – of the classroom.

And that would prove a useful combination of skills in adulthood.