Helping Your Kids Become Creative Thinkers

by: Anne Rimando

As parents, it is a common denominator to have the desire for our children to grow up prepared to any challenges their lives have to offer. Mothers, just like my own mother, are always anxious that they are making the right decisions for their children or guiding their children make the right directions every single day as early as possible to get a head start in this world. This is not a bad thing at all. In fact, this is the very manifestation of unconditional love that many writers such as myself love to write about.

I’m not exactly a mother yet but I have often wondered that if I have to start a family soon, what values can I impart my children to at least say that I’m proud of what I have accomplished later on. Paranoid much? No, not really. If you watch the news or read the daily news and see crimes being committed, I’m sure most of you have tried to analyze and understand the inner workings of the criminals’ minds. And you also realize and agree with experts that the common thieves and common rapists are products of broken homes. The basic values have not been instilled and these individuals suffer from low emotional intelligence. Probably as children, they haven’t been guided to think creatively and solve problems according to specified rules. These individuals become lawbreakers because they think that there are no other ways to solve the problem they are faced with. Discipline and self-control are concepts they have trouble grasping.

I’m not an expert so I won’t be dwelling much into how criminals become criminals. Instead, I’d like to focus on the idea of rearing our children to become creative thinkers and effective problem solvers. If you’re not aware of this yet, there is a strong correlation that exists between music training and brain development. Mental development is crucial in helping our children become better citizens because obviously, everything happens in the brain. I love music. It has helped me so much in my life in dealing with problems, and emotional outbursts. And so when I heard about researches regarding music and the brain, I became interested. I learned that music literally light up all the areas of our brain. Our brain have left and right spheres where only a certain region is utilized in most activities but with music training, all of the regions are utilized. Advanced technology such as PET scans and MRI imaging have made it possible to monitor the brain while the subject is engaged in listening to music or playing an instrument. And the entire brain “lights up” when we do so.

So in line with this, it is a great idea for your children to engage in musical training. I’m sure you are already familiar with some parents making their child listen to classical music as early as possible. The idea is there but I suggest kicking it up a notch. Sharon Burch, a product of musical environment and influences came up with a way to make music learning easy and fun for young children. To help parents make their kids smarter, Sharon Burch created Freddie the Frog® where through his adventures, musical concepts are easier to grasp and retain for children.