Learning is an ongoing process for your child. It fosters growth and development which ensures that your child is growing perfectly fine. Curiosity, on the other hand, is an essential feature for a child to have.
What is curiosity?
It is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning. An individual who wants to learn and explore things out of curiosity is a curious person. Curiosity sharpens the mind and promotes creativity, which broadens a child’s horizons. If the child is curious to learn about things at home or outside, it shows that brain development is occurring at a very positive pace.
Often, we hear questions like, “Why is the sky blue?” “Where are the cars going?” or the most dreaded, “Where do babies come from?”!!
The need to investigate, discover, and explore are all proper ingredients for a child’s curious mind. Parents need to ensure that their children acquire different skills and knowledge and better understand the world.
So how do we foster our children’s curiosity?
There are several ways we can encourage our children to explore and get a better understanding of the world. They include, but not limited to;
Encouraging them to Ask Questions
Children always have questions and we do not have answers for many of them. As a great parent you should encourage your child to ask questions and not act like that you are bored. This encouragement ensures that the child will be free to ask and wonder without judgment.
On the other hand, the parent should be willing to answer questions and encourage discussion. This practice will show that they properly nurture their child’s curiosity.
Ask the Questions
Asking the questions yourself is an easy way to encourage them to think outside the box. You will be able to pick their brains and see their thought processes along with the level of understanding.
For example, when a parent asks the child a question like what superpower they would like to have, they will get many answers. These answers will continually foster their curiosity to find better superpowers and even make some new superpowers..
Push them to Find their Answers
Another way to foster your child’s curiosity is by encouraging them to find out answers by themselves. This way, they can reason and discover things on their own. So how do we do this?
If your child asks you why the sun doesn’t come out at night, you can tell them to observe what happens during the days and what happens during the night. With that, they will be more curious to find out what happens, and eventually, they will be able to figure things out by themselves.
Allowing them to Pursue their Interests
It is vital to allow your child to pursue their interests and cultivate their curious minds. Although parents always seem to have a set-out plan for their child’s future. Experts highly recommend that they let their children follow what interests them.
A parent who discourages their child from pursuing what they like to pursue., is doing a great disservice. This kills their inquisitive minds and even affects their self-esteem.
Encourage them to Try Out Different Activities
Another great way to nurture your child’s curiosity is by encouraging them to participate in different activities. If the child prefers outdoor activities, you can promote this by involving them in gardening, outdoor games and incase, the child is interested in indoor activities, involve them in baking, coloring, reading. These activities offer them a comprehensive skill set at home.
Cheering on a child to indulge them in things they would not willingly do, opens an excellent way of learning and understanding in different aspects of life.
Travel and Visit New Places
Travel and visits to different places awaken a child’s exploratory mind. When a child is exposed to various aspects like culture, food and behaviour, they can learn and be more curious about why people do things differently.
Visiting places like the beach, a ranch, and a desert can help children wonder and stimulate their curiosity to find more about that particular place.
Give your Child Some Tools
Giving your child some tools is also a great way to keep them busy. For example, you can offer your child colored pencils, papers, a magnifying glass, a compass, a children’s tool kit, building blocks, etc. to express themselves.
Offering your child such tools makes them to be free-spirited and open-minded and ensures that their inquisitive minds are fully utilized.
Share Open-Ended Stories and Questions
Helping your child to discover more answers to a story or question is an excellent way to foster curiosity. Showing them that there is no wrong or right answer encourages them to think more creatively.
Let Your Child Enjoy their Space
Creating a world where you allow your child to be a child is ultimately the best way to foster their curiosity. Ensuring that they can play in a safe and exciting environment without being scolded will build confidence in them to think bigger and be more inquisitive.
When children play without the worry of things like making messes, therein comes their true potential. As the saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. A child who can play in a safe place, can utilize his curious abilities and thrive as a healthy and normal child.
Many inventions came along as a result of a curious mind. Therefore, fostering a child’s curiosity is crucial to ensuring your child’s development. It helps in improving language skills and affects creativity to the great extent.
Enabling your child to make their own discoveries is a sure way of making them more aware and confident in their decisions.