I can't help thinking that giving kids creative space from a young age, and the opportunity to try out their most random ideas with no constraints but within a safe environment of creative media, directly addresses the issues they are raising.
It's as if art, and creativity, are taking yourself for a test drive. Creating your own space, where you can explore what you want. Having this means learning to have it and respect it - and trust it. Building up the structure, knowing how to give that to yourself. Like a storm cellar for when emotions and inputs get overwhelming.
A child who knows how to make space for his or her creativity can also make space for his or her identity. That's an important test drive, and something we can give kids from a young age simply by giving them the time and space to do it.
