We are said to be creative geniuses by the time we are 5 years old, yet this level of creativity has declined greatly by the time we are an adult. As we consider how to live our most creative life, it is important to reflect on why our creativity may wane throughout childhood and if there is anything we can do to stop it.

In this podcast I am speaking with American psychology researcher and scholar, Peter Gray about his book, "Free to Play, Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life".

Our natural human instinct is to play and explore. This is how we learn not only skills and information but also who we are, what we believe and what we are passionate about. Yet in today’s society, a lot of children’s freedom to play has been replaced with adult designed and monitored activity.

By removing the onus of control from children and constantly measuring them in environments where they all learn the same thing in the same way, are we necessarily helping kids develop the confidence and curiosity they need to solve their own problems and let their creativity thrive?

This conversation offers a compelling argument that to sustain and develop our innate creativity throughout childhood, we need to give our children their freedom to play back!