Post 5: How Creativity Supports Mental and Cognitive Development

What is happening in a toddler’s mind while they are painting, building or inventing a game? Far more than the finished object can show.

Creative activity asks children to notice, remember, predict and decide. A child building a cardboard tower considers which piece should go underneath. A child mixing paint watches one colour change another. A child drawing a family recalls people, features and relationships, then represents those ideas through marks. Each experience links thought with action.

Open-ended activities are particularly valuable because they do not provide every answer in advance. The child must generate possibilities: Could the box become a boat? How can the dough pieces be joined? What else could make this mark? This supports flexible thinking and the understanding that problems may have several solutions.

Creative work also exercises attention and working memory. A toddler may hold a simple intention—“I am making a road”—while selecting materials and adjusting the design. Preschool children can gradually plan longer sequences, explain their choices and return to unfinished work. These are early habits that later support learning across subjects.

Adults can deepen thinking without turning play into a test. Useful comments include, “You noticed that changed,” “What might happen next?” and “Show me how you did it.” Questions should invite thought, not search for one approved answer. Silence is useful too; children need time to experiment.

The aim is not to accelerate children into formal academic tasks. It is to strengthen curiosity, persistence and confidence in thinking. A creative child learns to approach uncertainty with an idea rather than fear. That mindset matters in art, but it also matters in mathematics, science, literacy and everyday problem-solving.

My toddler activity ebooks turn these principles into playful prompts that encourage children to think, choose and investigate.