The technology-driven world has made the kids lazier as they tend to stay up with gadgets such as mobile phones and tablets all day. Not only is this non-productive, but it also has negative outcomes on physical and mental health too. Therefore, it has become important to capture your kid’s interest with some hobbies so that he learns something too just like designing a terrarium.
Why Hobbies are Important for Kids?
Kids are in a phase of life where they are exploring stuff and developing a particular personality. Having the wrong interests such as overexposure to smartphones for gaming could make the kids stay dull. On the other hand, productive hobbies such as engaging in crafts, playing with educational toys, and gardening, etc. are known to bring an improvement in coordination and communication skills as well as develop an insightful ability to plan different things.
With many hobbies, kids will see different types of problems and would have to adjust according to them. This will enhance their decision-making and problem-solving skills as well. Since the phase of discovery has a lot for kids, they are always getting to know more things and feeling accomplished. Moreover, children will learn how to set different types of goals and achieve them. For instance, if a kid engages in gardening, he would be taking care of the plant and making sure that it does not wither. On his effort, he will ultimately get the fruit out of it giving a sense of accomplishment.
Hobbies are also important for kids because kids are fast learners. If they do learn something at a very young age, the chances of them becoming highly professional and sophisticated in the field get high. Experts recommend that a child should be highly engaged in multiple hobbies rather than one as it is important for child development. Those who do start to learn from an early age tend to be brighter than those who don’t.
Best Hobbies for Capturing a Kids’ Interest
Many kids imitate what their parents are doing so if you have a particular hobby of photography, the child will be most likely joining you. If you want to generate his interest in anything, try doing that in front of the child as it will increase his curiosity about exploring. On the other hand, some children tend to have particular interests and we always recommend that you support your child by helping them with it.
Arts and Crafts Hobbies
Colors are appealing to the children and you can have them in all the arts and crafts activities. They are known to be interesting for them as well as will improve the child’s creative ability as well. There are many different types of arts and crafts hobbies including Origami, Painting, Drawing, Wood Working, Sketching, and Felting as well.
Your child can learn to make different interesting figures and shapes by engaging in arts and crafts. There are tutorials on Youtube related to them that you can watch along with your child. We recommend that in the beginning, no matter what hobby your child chooses, do explain everything step by step along with guiding videos to help him learn the proper way to do it. Don’t limit the kid’s creativity by bounding him to a particular point rather let him open up and express himself through arts.
Collectables
Collectables aren’t just a hobby for kids rather many adults are engaged in them as well. Encourage your child to start a collection of any particular item. Collecting items improves the skill of grouping things and arranging them in a specific order. Try to show your child how many people have been collecting different items from a young age. Stamps, coins, rocks, comic books, toys, and playing cards are some of the things your child can start collecting.
Help out the young fellow in collecting these items. For example, if the child is collecting coins, try to give him change so that he can add it to his collection. You can also take him out on the seashore to collect seashells. Once a week, this would be an ideal hobby. Invite your child’s friends over as well which will give him a sense of accomplishment in front of his buddies. The other kids will be inspired to begin such a hobby too.
There are specific models that can be collected too. For example, models of airplanes, top buildings, wonders of the world, trains, cars, ships, and other such collectible items. Children love to have the different items in their collection so that they can show them off to others as well. If your child is collecting models of specific items, such as cars, it would show you where his interest is leading.
You can explain to your kids regarding the model trains as well. Read more over here – Beginner’s Complete Guide to Model Trains and Our Top 5 Picks.
Sightseeing and Photography
Sightseeing and photography are quite interrelated when it comes to a kid’s mind. Children love to be in an environment where they are always finding new stuff. There are many botanical gardens in the US where you can take him and let him explore. Encourage the child to take photos of the different scenes. Appreciate him for his effort and he will become more interested in doing so. Some kids have a particular interest only. For example, they will only like to take pictures of flowers so you can go sightseeing in parks only.
Occasionally, you can try convincing the little one to explore a new “surprising” place. Go to a bird garden where he can see many birds, or perhaps visit near the airstrip where the young one can see the mega jets taking off and landing. You can also take him to the seaside where fun, sightseeing, and photography all are present. If you live near a hill station, it could become a good spot too. Visit and explore as many places as you can and see how your child responds to them.
If your child shows high interest in planes, here are the best ones you can buy – Beginner’s Complete Guide to RC Planes and Our Top Picks
Animal Care
One of the hobbies that will capture the interest of all the kids is having a pet. Children love playing around with their pets and taking care of them. They can have young dogs or cats which will grow with them. Getting animals at a young age will help in teaching the kid with some basic responsibility as he will be taking care of the food and other requirements of the pet.
Children enjoy pets because they are good companions and playmates. The pets adapt to the nature of their owners and play with them. We recommend you take your kid with you when buying a pet. You may also need to consider the type of pet your kid wants. For example, some children may not be attracted to cats and dogs rather they might be more interested in fishes, ducks, parrots, or chickens as their pets. Nonetheless, pet care will play a crucial role in the development of your child in the long term.
Sports
Sports may seem to be too much for kids but there are many examples which prove that the kids who start learning different kinds of sports activities become experts later in their life. The most recent example is of Hend Zara who is the youngest Olympic player for Table Tennis at the age of 11. At such a young age, he became an expert because he started learning it all when he was even younger.
Children tend to grasp the concepts and patterns at a young age very quickly. Being at a growing age, their reflexes get strong swiftly allowing them to adapt to the requirements of the sport. For these reasons, try to talk to your kid and introduce him to a number of sports. See where his interest goes and proceed with it. Play with your kid once every 2 days to capture his interest further. Make things somehow challenging for the child as it will instigate him to perform better.
Gardening
Although not many children have this as their hobby, it can surely be the one that can engage them for a considerable amount of time. Try to plant a pot or sow some seeds in the garden with your child and show him how it grows over time. The child will want to do it too. Let him do the sowing but be careful that he does not hit himself with the spade or any other gardening equipment that is being used.
Encourage the young one to sow fruit seeds and take care of them for some time. Let him be aware of the efforts that it will take and appreciate him on every step. This will not only grab his interest but will also encourage him for the future. The kid will feel accomplished when his plant will grow up. If you have two or more kids, you can even have competitions between the kids which will encourage each one of them to perform better than the other.
Conclusion
Capturing a kid’s interest with hobbies isn’t difficult at all. You just need to find the right one and create some challenges in it as well so that the child feels eager to overcome them and feel accomplishment. The different types of hobbies we mentioned above are all known to get the spark from the children. Make sure that you don’t forcefully provoke your child into doing something as it isn’t beneficial towards child development rather it could create a negative impact.