Raising a creative child is no easy task, especially because teaching children to follow rules and seek the approval of others can stifle creativity.

An article in The New York Times discussed some ways parents can help children cultivate creativity, such as helping children develop their own ethical codes and allowing them to pursue their passions.

Creativity may be hard to nurture, but its easy to thwart, Adam Grant wrote for the Times. By limiting rules, parents encouraged their children to think for themselves. They tended to place emphasis on moral values, rather than on specific rules, the Harvard psychologist Teresa Amabile reports.

According to a study quoted in the article, the homes that produced the most creative children typically had an average of less than one rule.

The article also discussed how children are often told that practice makes perfect. Practice may make perfect, but it also creates habits that limit creativity. According to the Times, expert tax accountants struggled more than new accountants when a new tax law was introduced because they were accustomed to their habits.

Read the full story at The New York Times.