CREATIVITY IS DEAD.

This article is a Guest Post by Ivan Galizio.

I’ve really got nothing… THANK YOU GOODNIGHT!!!!!! 

This is an epidemic problem in our society today. Damn kids have lost the spark.  Creativity is dead, and do you know who is to blame? 

That’s right US!!! 

Somewhere between love and protection we have broken an entire generation of humanity. 

Let me tell you what I’m talking about. 

Back in my day, I was never at a loss for something to do. We were kicked out the door right after school with the shouted command “be back before the street lights come on!” 

My Bike was my chariot to the world…  I rode it everywhere.  I imagined it was a Harley and all it took was a few simple playing cards and a clothes pin. 

Do you know what I needed to have fun? A magnifying glass and the backyard. A ball and the side of the school.  A cardboard box.  

Kids these days… TOTALLY DIFFERENT story!  

Let’s take… MY kids for example. 

I have 6 computers in my house for 4 boys… ok 3 boys and me but STILL, 4 iPads, 3 iPods, XBox, PlayStation, an entire arsenal of Nerf guns, bows, arrows… Board games out the wazoo, a piano and 3 guitars. But do you know where my kids always end up? That’s right, right here: “DAD WE’RE bored” 

HOW IN BLUE HELL ARE YOU BORED???? 

The answer, they lack creativity. 

It isn't just my kids, either. Listen up and you’ll hear parents everywhere saying the same thing!

Not convinced?   

When I prepare a speech on any topic, 5-7 minutes is never enough time for me to say all I have to say.  But when my son was asked to write a 1-2 minute speech for school, you should have seen the look of horror on his face!  “What am I gonna say?!”  

They lack creativity in every aspect of their little lives!

Three main things have led to this unfortunate state of affairs:  Fear, conformity and structure.

Fear:  We as parents are afraid of what?
Well, honestly of everything! We fear and so we shelter. 

Don’t go outside… ok go outside but stay in the backyard! Please don’t fall! 

Socialize?! DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS!!! 

If you play in the dirt you could contract the flesh eating disease! 

Sunshine = cancer!

And don’t forget the biggest fear of all. The fear of being judged by other parents. 

“You let your child outside to play? What SPF is their sunscreen?  What brand of helmet? Do they have a GPS enabled tracking device implanted?” 

We shelter our kids and with sheltering came a lack of play a lack of wonder. The loss of creativity. 

Fear is killing creativity.

Conformity:   We preach diversity and yet we want everyone to be the same. 

There are no winners, because that means there might be losers. 

Be special little Johnny!!! Just do it just like everyone else… no you’re doing it wrong, still wrong… ok just be special exactly like Jim. YAY perfect you’re a special little flower just like Jim and Jane and Paul. 

People are encouraged to just fit in. Be like everyone else. Don’t be different. 

In losing our diversity we have lost our creativity. 

Being the same takes no effort.  It’s being different that sparks the imagination, gets the creative fire burning. Conformity is killing creativity.

Structure:  From the moment our children wake until the moment they fall asleep, nearly every second of every day is taken up with structured activities. There is no time for kids to be kids, in fact it’s frowned upon and don’t think it’s just the 700 million billion activities kids now-a-days all seem to be in, but it’s even in the toys we buy them. 

Remember Lego when you were a kid? If you were lucky you were given a $30 set when you were 5 and that set became cars, planes, mansions. That $30 set lasted me my whole childhood. 

Now every time a kid wants to play with Lego they need a new $200 set, with new instructions to follow, so they know what they are supposed to build. 

I mean think about it. When I was a kid I was lucky to have one after school activity. It was always in walking distance and I got myself there and back. 

Along with structure came scheduling. Parents are personal assistants and chaffeurs now. 

Play date? What’s a play date? If I wanted to play with the kid up the street I walked up to his door and knocked. Now I’m making a phone call to book an appointment for two weeks from today and I drive my kid there and pick him up. They don’t even know how to ask to play with each other anymore. 

Structure is killing creativity

Fear, conformity and structure. Where’s the creativity? Where's the bouncing dollar store ball in a pair of your mom’s old stockings? Playing freeze tag with the whole neighbourhood? Feeding stale bread to a family of ducks that flew into the ditch?

I want my kids to notice things, to wonder how and why… and I want them to go out and find the answers… hell, even make something up!  Create some fun.  Create some adventure.  Create a future where everyone isn’t the same, everyone isn’t afraid and everyone isn’t always too busy.  A future where creativity flows free.