I don’t have any easy answers in this week’s post. This entry is more a set of observations that raises a fundamental question about child development. How do we cultivate a safe space for teenagers to continue with creative endeavors?

Younger children need little encouragement to pursue creative paths. They seem to fall into a relaxed reverie easily – whether that means sitting down at the kitchen table to draw for a spell or playing out some elaborate fantasy amongst friends at the park. If parents can coax children to turn their attention away from the screens that tend to dominate our modern lives, then creativity seems to flow with ease.

Teenagers are another matter entirely. This period in a child’s development is fraught with tension, as they try to navigate the social landscape that becomes so central to their lives during these years. A lot of energy is expended in defining themselves. A binary begins to take shape, as the teenager points to some activities and claims ownership of them, whereas others are viewed as not being part of their identity.

All too often, creative pursuits fall by the wayside. There is something challenging about self-expression during this time. This is the age when sticking out often feels the most uncomfortable. Artistic engagement means producing something tangible for the outside world to bear witness to – whether performing a piece of classical music on the oboe or fashioning a sculpture out of clay. It will be seen, and all too often “being seen” is anathema to the teenager.

As adults, we long for the easy accord with creative passion that our younger selves so readily slipped into. We want those moments of artistic focus to return to us, and we wonder how our adolescence could have staunched such pursuits. I gave up playing the flute as a teenager. I returned to playing the instrument just a couple of years ago, and I marvel at how I could have ever abandoned it, for it brings such pleasure into my life.

I wish I had some wisdom for how to encourage teenagers to keep up with their artistic passions. I don’t have any insight.

The last thing that I want to see is more pressure being put on kids, to pursue still another activity in their lives, just to bolster a college application. Engaging with a creative pursuit must come from within the teenager’s heart. They must want to continue such self-expression. I don’t know what would have kept me connected to the flute. I know that a part of me just couldn’t stomach the exposure – the spotlight would have been too harsh. I let down my creative self. I wonder how to keep teenagers engaged, so that they develop a more fulsome range of creative expression throughout their lives.