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Podcasts Take Two
The Brood: How do you teach a child to be original?
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Feb 9, 2016
Listen • 15:22
The Brood: How do you teach a child to be original?
Practice makes perfect. Studying and hard work make good grades. But what's a child to do to learn to be original? What's a parent to do to raise a creative child?
How do you raise a creative child?
How do you raise a creative child?
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Juhan Sonin (Flickr creative commons)
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Practice makes perfect. Studying and hard work make good grades. But what's a child to do to learn to be original? What's a parent to do to raise a creative child?

Let's say you want your kid to become an olympic gymnast. Maybe you take him to lots of gymnastics classes. Or you've got a child with a penchant for engineering, so maybe you sign her up for robotics camp.

If your kid wants to become a violinist, you hire a music teacher, right? But what if your child wants to compose music— what can you do for that child?

There is no direct path to creative genius, but there are ways to raise a creative child. 

Adam Grant, professor of management and psychology at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, says step one is "back off."

Grant joined Take Two to discuss his recent New York Times op-ed "How to Raise a Creative Child," adapted from his new book "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World."

To hear the full interview, click the link above.