What is it about?
Have you ever watched a young child proudly show off an idea they think is genius? Maybe they’ve turned a paperclip into a fishing rod for dolls or suggested giving a stuffed animal superhero wings. But how do kids decide which of their ideas are the most creative? That’s exactly what our study set out to explore. We worked with 50 kindergarteners, aged 4 to 6, to see how they think about creativity. The kids took on two fun challenges. In one, they had to come up with different ways to use a simple object, like a paperclip. In the second, they brainstormed ways to make a toy more fun. Afterward, we asked them to pick their most original idea and tell us how creative they thought their answers were. Then, creativity experts reviewed their work to see how accurate their self-evaluations were. Here’s what we found: Some kids were surprisingly good at spotting their best ideas! These kids also tended to perform better overall in the tasks. However, many children thought all their ideas were amazing—an adorable but common case of overconfidence. But it is important to note that overconfidence might actually be helpful at their age, encouraging them to keep trying and stay excited about being creative. Even more fascinating, kids who were good at recognizing their best ideas in one task usually did just as well in the other. This shows that being able to judge creativity isn’t just about luck—it’s a skill that can transfer across activities. So, what does this mean for parents and teachers? It’s a reminder that encouraging kids to think about their ideas and giving them gentle feedback can be powerful. By guiding children to reflect on their creativity and helping them recognize what makes their ideas stand out, we can help them build the skills they need to grow into creative thinkers.
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Why is it important?
Creativity is one of the most important skills for the future, helping people solve problems, innovate, and think critically. By understanding how creativity develops in children, we can find ways to nurture it from an early age. Our study is unique because it focuses on young children—a group often overlooked in creativity research—and it connects their creative thinking to metacognitive skills, or the ability to reflect on their own thoughts. In today’s fast-changing world, fostering creativity in kids has never been more important. The earlier we can help children learn to think creatively and evaluate their ideas, the better prepared they’ll be to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. Our findings highlight the importance of teaching children not just to generate ideas but also to reflect on them. For parents and educators, this means encouraging kids to think about why their ideas stand out and providing constructive feedback. By doing so, we can help children develop into confident, creative problem-solvers who can thrive in any situation. So the next time a child shows you their idea for a flying bunny or a robot paperclip, remember: it’s not just play—it’s a step toward building a more creative and innovative future.
Perspectives
In a world increasingly driven by innovation and complex problem-solving, creativity is no longer just a "nice-to-have" skill—it’s essential. Understanding how these skills develop in early childhood could help us design better educational tools and parenting strategies to foster creativity in ways that feel natural and enjoyable for children. One of the most important takeaways from this research is the role of metacognition—the ability to think about and evaluate one’s own thinking. Already at this age, children are more or less able to identify their creative ideas. What’s exciting is that—in studies from other domains—we’ve found that providing children with metacognitive feedback can make a big difference. Therefore, it makes only sense to encourage preschoolers to reflect on their ideas and get guidance on what makes some ideas stand out more than others. This shows how important it is to start fostering metacognition early, as it lays the foundation for more thoughtful and innovative thinking throughout their lives.
Dr. Marek Urban
Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences
As a child psychologist, I am passionate about understanding how children think about their own thinking. It is fascinating that even at an early age, children demonstrate remarkable potential for metacognitive monitoring and regulation, though they often overestimate their performance. This shows just how important it is to nurture these skills early, helping children grow into thoughtful and creative learners.
Dr. Kamila Urban
Institute for Research in Social Communication, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “I know my idea is original!” Creative metacognitive monitoring and regulation in kindergarten children, Thinking Skills and Creativity, June 2024, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.tsc.2024.101541.
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