A Child's Opportunity to Experience Childhood

"Stretch your child's powers by giving him an opportunity to express himself in a wide variety of activities. You aren't stuffing him into a preconceived mold of what your son or daughter ought to be. You are helping your child know more about himself and his relationship to those close to him and to the whole world to which he must relate. The creative process that you are aware of, the exposure to so many important, vital experiences, must always be a part of play, of fun, for your child. This is his only childhood."

Marlene LeFever, Growing Creative Children
page 14

Cultivating Creativity

"Cultivating creativity requires time and forethought, whether parents choose to experiment in playing word games, molding clay, or writing stories or original songs. Parents must follow with love and understanding the child's attempts to express himself. The child must know that every effort he makes is worth something. In itself the act may have been a mistake, a chance happening. But through each creative self-expression the child will develop initiative, self-control, and imagination."

Marlene LeFever, Growing Creative Children
page 13