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It’s easy to let our children fill their spare time with things like video games or YouTube. However, having some structure to their play can be good for them and their overall development. Here are ways you can introduce your child to a hobby and see how they grow.
Why Emphasize Hobbies?
Often, our little ones may find themselves somewhat isolated during their free time due to the nature of modern life. Everything is tech-based, and while that can be distracting for an hour or two, it’s important to develop healthy habits early on. One of the ways to do so is through hobbies, especially if we involve ourselves in the process. This fosters communication and can bring us even closer as families. Furthermore, an engaging hobby can translate into greater self-belief for our children during school. It can also bolster their esteem as they experience success and growth in something other than direct education.
Getting Started
Beginning a hobby can seem daunting to a child, but with a little encouragement, they can quickly see how easy it is to devote a little time each day to their chosen activity. Of course, modeling us is the best way to make our children emulate good behavior, so be sure to participate in their hobby with them. You may need to prompt them and perhaps give them little rewards, something like an hour of television for spending an hour on their hobby. This way, the hobby becomes part of their daily routine and includes plenty of family fun time.
Science-Based
It may not be immediately obvious, but practicing science is an excellent hobby for children of all ages. Not only could it spark a lifelong love, but it also stimulates critical thinking, gets them ready for complex ideas in school, and encourages an appreciation that learning can be fun and exciting. To drive home this last point, introduce them to some enjoyable experiments you can do in your own kitchen. Science, like many disciplines, is varied, so should they show little interest in how magnets work, you could instead focus on building or patterns. There really are as many ways to explore science as there are children.
Art-Based
Practicing a form of art does more than develop creativity. It also helps our little ones learn, sharpen their motor skills, boost their self-image, and improve their ability to make decisions. However, children can sometimes get overwhelmed or not know where to start, and that's when you could suggest playing with colors. While it may be tempting to offer direction and guidance, try to resist as much as possible. Instead, allow your munchkins to paint what they feel in the moment, which will hopefully lead them to more experimentation. Stay close in case they have questions or need support, and involve yourself throughout.
Music-Based
If you want your child to do well at reading, writing, math, and science, then invest in a musical hobby. It provides discipline and patience, two more good traits to inspire in our babies. You could cultivate a hobby by spending time listening to music together, but the best method is to learn an instrument, such as the clarinet. By physically practicing an instrument, they learn they can get markedly better at something with a bit of effort, which increases their self-esteem and self-respect. This is beneficial training for children to continue as they grow, so reassure them to persist with it, even if it’s a little difficult at first.
Starting can be the hardest part, particularly when we ourselves aren’t masters in specific areas. Yet, by inspiring our children to explore until they find something they enjoy, we can be sparking a lifelong passion. You never know where these habits will go, or if one day they will turn into a career, so journey together into various hobbies to nurture something beautiful.