The whys and wherefores of home creativity support: A cross-cultural reflexive thematic analysis between British and French parents

Abstract

Although creativity research increasingly documents how parents support their children's creativity at home, previous work has been mostly quantitative in nature, while qualitative studies almost exclusively report data from mothers. Thus, we conducted online qualitative interviews of 14 parents (9 mothers and 5 fathers) of children aged between 4 and 6 years, who were living in France or in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a cross-cultural reflexive thematic analysis, we explored questions around what views of early childhood creativity parents shared; whether (and if so why) they are motivated to engage in dyadic home creative activities with their children; and their perceptions of the benefits of these activities, both on themselves, and on their children. The parents shared views and definitions of creativity in line with creativity research. Moreover, they explained how they used creative activities to teach their children social rules, self-expression, independence, and skills development. They also appreciated creative activities as a strategy to help their children vent and calm down or, in contrast, to foster in them a sense of joy and vitality. Parents also reported the extent to which creative activities contribute to parent—child relationship quality. We discuss these findings through the lens of Self-Determination Theory.