Inspire your kids to think out of the box

Question yourself, do you want your children to leave a trail by going off the beaten path or just want them to take the usual road? Let us not let our children be the sheep in the herd and rather, encourage them to explore the unusual.

Out-of-the-box thinking is a skill that each individual should develop. Indoctrinate your children with this approach by allowing them to improvise the extant ideas and shape fresh rules. Let them peep out of the ground area mounted for you and me, let them think creatively, differently, unconventionally, and divergently.

This thought was perfectly illustrated by Vincent Van Gogh when he said that, “normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it”.

It is vital to appreciate and embolden your child’s stepping out of his/her comfort zone. It’s important to inculcate divergent and creative thinking abilities at an early age. If this is not done comprehensively, tasks demanding solving anything beyond the ordinary in later ages might end up frightening them.

We know that ‘thinking out of the box is a simple metaphor but it is also a quality that most intellectuals and academicians manifest. Thomson Edison, Tim Berners Lee, Charles Babbage, Graham Bell, and many other legends were all people who defied the usual and thought of the extraordinary. Those people were not the god’s favorites, they just had the guts to cross the square drawn around them and hence, are referred to as the creators of history. It is upon the parents to encourage their children to not choose a path just because it is comfortable to take. It is upon the parents to steer their children in directions that defy the trends and motivate them to take risks, to not fear failure, to think from an entirely novel and unique perspective, to come out of their comfort zones, and to set an example for others.

Thinking beyond the box is not about transgressing or outstepping certain essential boundaries, it is about thinking creatively and innovatively. Consequently, it is about maximizing your potential and strengthening your freedom, choices, and laurels. In my opinion, children who think out of the box have a definite edge over their peers as they are ready to explore the unknown.

Few suggestions to teach your children to think outside of the box:

• Most importantly, start at an early age
• Use project-based lessons
• Encourage your child to tackle challenges.
• Furnish abundant opportunities for creative playtime.
• Plan open-ended question sessions.
• Ask introspective questions such as:
  - What do you think?
  - What is the next step that you will take?
  - How will you fix it?
  - Are you facing any difficulty?
  - Are there any other ways of solving this issue?
  - Are you ready to find new ways to solve this problem?
  - Appreciate them, positive reinforcement goes a long way.

Inspiring your children to think outside the box, at an early age, will tone their brain muscles, sharpen their minds, enhance creativity, intelligence, imagination, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and will help them lead a successful life in future.

Use PACE

To facilitate out-of-the-box thinking, you need to provide your children

With educationally challenging and holistically engaging tasks. PACE (Parent and Child Engagement) offers plenty of such challenging and interactive tasks for your children.

Download PACE on Android or iOS and use it as an aid in developing your child’s extraordinary thinking abilities. To know more about PACE, you can contact us.

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