My 7 year old-year-old son loves Lego and video games. He plays Minecraft on his tablet all the time, building various things, but apparently nearly everything he made was something he replicated from a Youtube video. He loves his Lego toys, and always begs for new sets. However, he only goes as far as following the instruction booklets exactly as specified with no modifications, setting them aside as display models without ever breaking them down to use the parts. We got him a box of random Legos that doesn't have instructions, but he never plays with it.
Last night I had a long talk with him in order for me to understand why he doesn't make things of his own design. He said that he doesn't like what he makes; that he can't make it as pretty as what other people make or what's in the instruction. When he tries to make things himself, to him it is a small, unimpressive, and ugly piece of work. I have tried encouraging/bribing/forcing him to try creating things and then praise it and his effort, but it doesn't help. He can't help but compare it to what other people make. He always tells me "what if I made..." this and that, with grand ambitions, but never actually goes through with it or tries. He just falls back to copying. He is absolutely proud of the things he copies and always shows me. When I show displeasure in the fact that itsit's a copy, he becomes sad, and if I praise him, that only further encourages him to plagiarize...
Any advice for how I can help him?
