Encouraging creativity in children

I have had conversations with parents about how worried they are that their child is choosing subjects which will not get them a job at the end of their school or college life.

I'm not sure any 15 or 16 year old really knows what they want to do for the next 40 years of their life and so choosing subjects based on a career path that may not materialise may not be the best for their child.

My first response is always, what does their child enjoy or excel at in school?

What do they do outside of school?

My advice is to encourage parents to encourage their children's passions rather than stifle them, find out what makes their child happy at school and go from there.

I'm a parent and so completely understand their concerns but when my own children were choosing their options I said that they should focus on what they enjoy most as their initial career path may change at any time, and that is fine.

A lot of parents even now, are cautious of their children pursuing a career in the creative arts thinking that there are no real career prospects in the creative industries, resulting in parents encouraging academic subjects over creative ones.

This opens up the discussion on why their child shouldn't be discouraged from choosing creative subjects over academic subjects if it's what their child loves, is good at and will most likely achieve high grades. The amount of career options for the creative industry is vast at so many levels.

Often, the parents are from an academic background who can't initially see the value of studying Art, Design, Music or Sport, I personally think that schools should provide more information on the huge amount of careers within these sectors have which are well paid and provide job satisfaction.

I have always told my own children as well as those in the schools I have worked in that careers span a lifetime, and 40 years in a job you hate, is an incredibly long time during which time your mental well being may suffer as a result.

I have encouraged my children to chase the career of their dreams after leaving school, college and University adding that if they change their mind later they won't have regretted trying.

So far they are enjoying what they do, my daughter has a career in the creative music industry and my son is a plumber.