Lived experience of fostering creativity mothers with creative child: A phenomenological approach

Mothers play an important role in nurturing and flourishing their children’s creativity by engaging in their activities. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore the experiences of mothers with creative children studying the fourth grade of elementary school in Isfahan about the ways they used to foster creativity for their children. The research method was qualitative with a descriptive phenomenological approach. The community included mothers with creative children. Participants were selected through purposive sampling. Ten mothers were examined until the data reached saturation. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed by Colaizzi seven-step method. Findings were categorized into three main themes namely stimulating curiosity (encouraging questioning, encouraging experimentation, creating opportunities for thinking and reflection), playing (mental plays, unstructured plays, creative plays, analytical play and imaginative plays) and performing artistic activities (crafts, painting). These categories depict the experiences of mothers with creative children. Findings obtained in this study showed that in addition to current methods of fostering creativity, the experiences of mothers of creative children also play an important role in fostering children's creativity. It is suggested that mothers' experiences be used in fostering children's creativity.