Childhood is short, and adulthood comes too fast. Help your child discover new interests with a hobby.
Adult life is busy. There are so many demands on our time it would be nice to be able to go back to the simplicity of childhood. One of the great pleasures we don’t get to enjoy as much as we would like is participating in hobbies. From collecting stamps to playing the trombone, whatever it is we want to do, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to do it.
Besides getting your child peeled away from the TV for a while, hobbies are great for:
- Keeping children out of trouble and away from unhealthy or destructive activities.
- Their educational value. Most hobbies have some sort of educational value and also fuel a desire to learn, if not only to aid in getting better at that hobby.
- Bonding with parents when you share their interest.
- Children learning self-discipline through practice.
- Boosting self-esteem through success with a hobby.
- Helping your child make more friends, either through participating in shared interests or just by being more interesting themselves.
- Introducing them to what can lead to a career or other passions later in life.
Honestly, this list can go on and on and change depending on the hobby your child decides they are interested in. Check out the list below and see if your child would like to try any or several. You never know just what might stick until you try it.
Drawing/ painting
Most children will dabble in art. Help turn this into a hobby by getting them into art clubs or checking out books on how to draw from the library. Here are some ideas on what to do with all that art you’ll have on your hands.
Video logging/ writing/ blogging
Whatever your child wants to write/ talk about will help improve their language skills and confidence. See a list of writing prompts for children here.
Collecting something
Whether it’s the classic stamp or baseball card collection or something new like video games, children learn skills like searching for items to add to their collection and knowing the value of each item.
Cooking/ baking
This skill is something everyone should have. As a bonus, your child can become a big help to you in preparing meals.
Knitting
Learning how to knit helps with fine motor skills and they learn about matching colors as they become more skilled.
Gardening
Learning about plants and caring for them not only teaches your child how to be nurturing but a little bit of science when it comes to caring for their plants. To save a little money, try growing plant’s from scraps.
Sports
Anything that gets your kid active whether it’s martial arts, baseball, dance or anything else is great for keeping them healthy. Children also learn how to have a good attitude and the value of teamwork by participating in a sport.
Scrapbooking
Like any creative hobby, children who scrapbook help children become confident, and scrapbooking or making collages can also cover other interests they may have.
Volunteer
Helping others provides a sense of fulfillment and helps develop a work ethic. It also looks great on college applications.
Puzzles
Putting together puzzles improves fine motor skills and problem-solving skills.
Spelling
Being able to spell big words is not only impressive but aids in reading and comprehension. Children who are able to deduce how to spell a word form it’s origin also develop deduction skills thus making them better at solving problems.
Language
Children who speak more than one language have stronger cognitive, multitasking, and decision-making skills. Memory is improved as well as a list of plenty of other benefits.
Traveling
This one needs help from an adult, but traveling to other places really aids in being more open to new experiences and understanding of others.
Keeping a pen-pal
There are many resources out there on finding a safe pen-pal for your child to write to. Just sharing things with someone, helps teach children how to maintain healthy relationships and show interest in others.
Fishing
Patience is key when it comes to this hobby. Kids can also learn how to cook their fish for added skills.
