Children have this amazing capacity to surprise us. They pick up sayings and skills that we never quite manage to trace the origin of. Some days they astound us with how smart they are, yet other days we can’t believe how daft they can be. When they reach the age of showing a great interest in a particular hobby or interest, their capacity to surprise us really takes off.
Most children will find an interest in things their parents have introduced them too. These interests may include trains, magic tricks, and music. As time goes by, their school friends will begin to influence greatly where their interests lie. They may start collecting figurines or trading cards. They may also take up more team sports and other extracurricular activities. Influences will come from every direction, but most kids also have a good sense of who they are as individuals. They will find their own passions and interests.
Your child may be quite into magic tricks or card tricks using Bicycle cards. You will probably be pleased to know these activities are all exercising the brain as well as taxing your patience. The interaction your children will have with their audience is also great for them to develop good social skills and better awareness of human behavior. Watching motorized trains go around and around a track can be quite hypnotic for everyone, but for children, it can be especially mesmerizing. A good sense of spacial awareness and timing will be developed from this traditional hobby.
Sports activities are great for building social skills and better understanding the importance of teamwork. There will be times when there may be a few spats between teammates, but these are important for developing advanced interpersonal skills. Gross motor skills can also be greatly improved, together with health and fitness. If your children are budding musicians, their minds are being stimulated and worked in multiple ways at once. Coordinating fine motor skills with notation on the page, then translating that into a musical emotion is very challenging. It requires a higher intelligence that can be developed by every child.
Your child may be a big reader and like nothing more than being sat in a corner with a favorite series of books. Eventually, they may turn away from fiction and prefer to read books on dinosaurs, space and other science interests. Reading is a wonderful pastime. It provides entertainment and stimulates emotions. Reading builds vocabulary, and develops a better understanding of the world.
Each of the hobbies or interests your children dabble with will undoubtedly lead to the next one. Try to mix them up a little, so all parts of their development are covered. Expose them to as many activities, and interests as you possibly can so they are widely informed about what is available to them. They will undoubtedly take these passions into their adult life, and maybe even pass them on to their own children in the future. While some may be more expensive than others, a well-rounded introduction to each is essential.
I think it's a great idea to expose your children to many activities so they can find their passion. Lead by example -- show them that you have activities you enjoy as an adult.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. I have found that no matter what your child is into, you should encourage them. My boys are big into soccer, so we do classes and play outside as often as possible. I'm hoping that we can get them into music as well, even though I can't hold a tune or play an instrument to save my life!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
www.queenofthelandoftwigsnberries.com
Hehehe my daughter like so many things!!! We are trying to narrow it down just alittle so she can focus on favorites... Kids love learning new things that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteI love it when parents support a kid's interest. :) You are sweet.
ReplyDeleteI love to see my kids grow and learn. Its crazy how two kids come from the same parents and their interests can be so different. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great post. It's definitely making me think about what my daughter loves at the moment. Now I want to enroll her for dance. :)
ReplyDeleteThe best thing my parents ever did was let me "be me." They never forced hobbies or dance lessons on me, or sports I hated, etc. I was a really weird little kid and they encouraged me to collect pet bugs and live in my make-believe world.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice to give and take. I try to mix up the kids hobbies and add to them each year. They love sports and reading which I'm really happy about. I do wish I could get Tyler to get outdoors more.
ReplyDeleteWe always encouraged our daughters to try many different things. At some point, they were each able to connect with something they loved.
ReplyDeleteMy parents were so wonderful, giving me great opportunities as a child. I'd love to pass that onto my kids some day.
ReplyDeleteAs a mom of two little ones I can't help but get so excited about their future, what sports or art programs to put them in. I want to put them in everything!
ReplyDeleteIt is great to see how kids grow as they get older and develop their interests. I think its important to let kids choose their own interests.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome post indeed and it is so important for our children to be exposed to many different activities. I had always let my kids do their thing when it came to trying different activities. They need positive encouragement for everything they do to build self confidence also. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your pros on reading. My son's vocabulary has gone through the roof since he switched to chapter book reading.
ReplyDeleteReading is so important for us. My kids read every day and I encourage them a lot
ReplyDeleteKids are amazing, and can learn so much from the many activities they explore. We allow our son to explore many topics, and we quickly discovered his core strengths. He tends to stick with those now.
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