Had an interesting chat with a friend yesterday - she has a young child who's apparently brilliant at art but my friend is holding back the praise in case it's a fluke. My friend doesn't need the drama of enrolling her in some art academy or having precious talent washed down the Singapore education system. Not yet.
One point that struck me in the conversation was that the father, also a good friend, had once instructed the same child to draw within the lines while the mother had allowed for literally boundless expression. What a classic situation presented, the two opposites of adult behaviour expressed to a child. One rule observant, the other rule breaker. Toeing the line and jumping across. Perhaps subservient and renegade.
Most adults are followers. We expect things to be done in a certain way so that we get the required outcome. The people who maintain order in society also expect us to follow certain rules to keep society as a whole running smoothly. There will be outliers who will need reining in, those who commit crimes. In general though, everyone has an idea of boundaries in their lives.
This kid is lucky though, to have the balancing war played out at an early age, to be spectator to argument on what boundaries should be laid for her at this age. The parents care to figure this out. It's also good that she might testing the waters of her limits. It turns out that teenagers behave irrationally, or simply put, like to get in trouble, so that they can test more limits in their metamorphosis into adulthood. Limit-testing helps the brain and body figure out what it can endure and fathom, and later repeat.
Do these boundaries limit creativity? Yes and no. Some will argue that drawing within the lines will stifle imagination. Others will argue that imagination will sprout magnificence within the limits. Both valid points with lots of examples for both. Nothing's really right or wrong but sticking to one extreme is likely not the way to go. I know parents who prefer a veritable stranglehold I their kids when young, to loosen the grip as logical thought, reasoning and a defined sense of right and wrong have kicked in. Other parents have adopted 'the kid will figure it out' approach - a somewhat hands-off experiment to shape the mind and body through personal interaction. I prefer the more control with room to figure out. It makes life less difficult for the caregiver. Some boundaries are there for good reason. Others not so. To recognise this takes some level of logic and rationalisation. Kids don't do that or can't do that, hence the adults must.
