--- title: The Reason Your Child Might Be Less Creative description: Our schools and workplaces claim to love creativity — but the research shows they don’t reward it. In fact, they punish it. “…students with the... canonical: https://time.com/3559171/reason-child-less-creative/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-06T05:01:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:00:27.655Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Reason Your Child Might Be Less Creative og:description: Our schools and workplaces claim to love creativity — but the research shows they don’t reward it. In fact, they punish it. “…students with the... og:url: https://time.com/3559171/reason-child-less-creative/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e0009ca6c041f52/6987644e524fc0f8bbdea3b1/creative-child.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: child og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Reason Your Child Might Be Less Creative twitter:description: Our schools and workplaces claim to love creativity — but the research shows they don’t reward it. In fact, they punish it. “…students with the... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e0009ca6c041f52/6987644e524fc0f8bbdea3b1/creative-child.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Reason Your Child Might Be Less Creative > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Nov 6, 2014 5:01 AM UTC  Boy with box covering head and homemade toy robot Boy with box covering head and homemade toy robot Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Nov 6, 2014 5:01 AM UTC Our schools and workplaces claim to love creativity — but the research shows they don’t reward it. In fact, they punish it. _“…_ **_students with the highest GPA’s were the ones who scored lowest on measures of creativity and independence…”_** _“…_ **_supervisors judged their workforce the way teachers judged their students. They gave low ratings to employees with high levels of creativity and independence…”_** Via [How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547564651/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547564651&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Teachers often say they love creative students. [They don’t](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/do-teachers-love-or-hate-creative-students/): --- > “” --- Are you a creative person? Want to be a CEO? Good luck. [You’ll need it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/02/does-being-creative-harm-your-chances-of-beco/): --- > “” --- (To learn the secrets to increasing your child’s creativity, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-are-the-four-principles-that-will-lead-y/).) **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/schools-workplaces-kill-creativity/)**_._** **Join over 130,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). What To Read Next: [How To Raise Happy Kids – 10 Steps Backed By Science](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/02/happy-kids/) [Good Parenting Skills: 7 Research-Backed Ways to Raise Kids Right](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/11/good-parenting-skills/) [How To Have A Happy Family – 7 Tips Backed By Research](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/10/how-to-have-a-happy-family/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3559171/reason-child-less-creative/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3559171/reason-child-less-creative/"},"headline":"The Reason Your Child Might Be Less Creative","datePublished":"2014-11-06T05:01:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:00:27.655Z","description":"Our schools and workplaces claim to love creativity — but the research shows they don’t reward it. 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