Children are born learners, with a natural curiosity to figure out how the world works. Their curiosity is born from a desire to learn, explore and discover new things. The more curious a child is, the more she learns. Therefore. nurturing your child’s curiosity is one of the most important ways you can help them become a lifelong learner.
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According to parenting enthusiast and founder 2nuture, Bukola Afolabi, “Children have been “pushed” into this world they know absolutely nothing about. Everything is new and fascinating to them and everything they see holds the possibilities of unlocking new knowledge for them, so they explore- touching, fiddling and tasting pretty much everything, much to our chagrin. Our world as we know it now will not be what it is, if not for curiosity.
“Curiosity is at the centre of science, inventions and technology. Without curiosity, kids will not learn, gain knowledge and confidence, or be empowered to live life at it’s best. Curiosity is the natural urge that helps kids make sense of our world and discover their place in it.
Below are a few tips on how to effectively handle your child’s curiosity
1. Create a safe environment internally and externally for kids to explore
This is one of the major roles of parents when it comes to maximising curiosity in kids. Kids are curious about everything and can’t identify the harmful or dangerous things yet; so they reach out to everything and this can be stressful and scary for parents.
You can do this by keeping harmful objects out of reach. This reduces the stress level of the child and the parents. “To foster a safe ‘internal’ environment, in terms of the psychological development of the child, parents should endeavour to be involved in and affirm kids’ discoveries. Tell them what things are and applaud them when they remember. When they ask questions, endeavour to answer as often as you can. Ask them questions, too, questions that could help them make better observations or think deeply”.
2. Repetition is key
Kids will not learn all they need to learn in one encounter or just because they got answers to their questions once. Be prepared to repeat and clarify because sometimes they will be confused, sometimes they will forget, and sometimes they might misunderstand what we mean.
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3. Give them room to ask questions
Be ready to learn (listen attentively). They might ask enlightening questions that give us a fresh perspective and force us to think about things in a different way. This allows for clarification and proper understanding. We might not always be in the mood to answer questions or it might not just be the right time; but, don’t shut them down completely, let them know you will answer their questions some other time.
Afolabi added that kids generally move on when their curiosity has been satisfied about a particular thing, it doesn’t mean though that they might not have questions about that thing sometime later. Learning is an ongoing process that should never end for anyone, young or old.
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4. As they grow older though, we have to be intentional about sustaining this curiosity by exposing them to new experiences and knowledge.
Provide them with books, new activities, travels, exposure to new information, etc. As parents, we should make sure they are learning something new. They should be exposed to the diversity in our world. Guide them not to fit the world in a box. Help them to gain a grand, larger view of the world.
5. Have the mentality of a tour guide!
As parents we are tour guides of sorts, the one who should point out the awesome and fascinating features of the world to these awesome newcomers- our kids. Curiosity is an innate urge given to enrich our lives and expand our minds, let’s do the best we can to ensure it performs these roles in the lives of our kids, and not otherwise.
Summer is long and children can be extra inquisitive when they know there’s a trusted adult around to feed their curiosity. All we need is extra patience and love!
