Creative thinking for artistic growth of children Impact of technology on a growing child

Children now rely on technology for the majority of their play, grossly limiting their creativity and imaginations, as well as limiting necessary challenges to their bodies to achieve optimal sensory and motor development.

Sedentary bodies bombarded with chaotic sensory stimulation are resulting in delays in attaining child developmental milestones with subsequent negative impact on basic foundation skills for achieving literacy. Hard-wired for high speed, today's young are entering school struggling with self-regulation and attention skills necessary for learning.

These eventually lead to significant behaviour management problems for teachers in the classroom. So what is the impact of technology on the developing child?

Children's sensory, motor, and attachment systems have not evolved biologically to accommodate this sedentary, yet frenzied and chaotic nature of today's technology.

The impact of rapidly advancing technology on the developing child has seen an increase of physical, psychological and behavioural disorders that the health & education systems are just beginning to detect, much less understood.

Creativity and innovation are critical success factors in today"s knowledge economy. Acknowledging this, nations around the globe are beginning to make changes to their educational system by incorporating these factors in their national curriculum

Creative thinking, what is that?

Creative thinking is all about finding different solutions to the same problem or situations, allowing one to develop wild and crazy thoughts. There are two ways of thinking creatively to solve problems; one is Convergent Thinking and the other one is the opposite of it, Divergent Thinking.

Convergent is a way of thinking where one can take all the information & knowledge and turn it into answers or solutions to problems. Divergent thinking normally involves brainstorming and looking for alternative ways to solve problems.

Some people may only think in a convergent way, while others may think divergently, however, both these approaches are needed in our lives to solve various problems. But if we are not allowed to think differently, or taught exactly how things are to be done; how would one ever know that there are diverse ways of doing the same thing.

Actually it's more about changing the mindset of parents. Even though they are open to new schooling methods, they still expect their kids to join the family business and not follow their dreams, in which they might actually excel.

They may end up finding that happiness, satisfaction of mind & soul in some other business which will ultimately make them deliver the best and take the nation ahead. A budding entrepreneur will show signs of being one from an early stage.

However, the child needs to be given a free rein to explore the interest areas and take it forward when he/she grows up. External restrictions should not put a ceiling on his thoughts and creativity. Successful entrepreneurs are highly creative too in their thought process.

To work towards this initiative, "Happifest', a CREATIVAL which is a festival of creativity for children and parents is being held. It is a fun filled event for children and their parents to enjoy a weekend full of exciting workshops, entertainment & attractions.

The workshops are specially curated so that children can explore their creative sides away from gadgets & screens and experience a whole new world under one roof. "Happifest' intends to become the foremost Children's Creative Festival in the country and act as a platform or an initiative to improve the overall creative index of India.

Such activities will promote a sense of pride in our culture and make our ethnicity "cool' for the new generation to easily accept & appreciate it.