Every parent can describe at least one moment that stands out in their memory where kids demonstrated true and unbridled curiosity. Some of my greatest memories of my kids’ curiosity have come at the most unexpected times and most pure of circumstances. Here are 12 simple things to do to teach children curiosity.
Helping kids develop their curiosity will ultimately allow them to find joy and happiness in their questions about the things and people around them.
This habit brings out my teacher’s heart. I have spent close to 10 years of my life and career in classrooms asking students to explore difficult and complex questions. My goal was always to light a fire of curiosity and to help with the skills necessary to ask meaningful questions.
I believe that today, some of the most important habits that parents can help develop are a curiosity in kids. I remind myself regularly that like many things in life, my kids need my wife and me to show them what a curious nature looks, sounds, and feels like.
I love the following quote from an unknown source about curiosity as it serves as a great reminder of why curiosity is such a powerful ingredient:
“The future belongs to the curious. The ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke at it, question it, and turn it inside out”.
I know I don’t have everything figured out about how to help our kids develop a curious nature and a wandering heart. I have tried many different things in our careers, and my life as a parent to stimulate curiosity.
I offer the following tips to you as examples of things to teach your children.
Role models
I am approaching my role as an #epic dad from the perspective that kids are our apprentices when it comes to developing habits of curiosity. When a question pops into my head, I ask it out loud so that the kids can hear me. I ask the kids to offer their answers or possible explanations.
This helps them develop a sense that it is ok not to know the answer to a difficult question. Our understanding of the world has grown because people have asked complex questions, come up with hypotheses, and then tested them out.
What I need to do a better job of in this regard is the follow up helping my kids test their hypotheses. Like many parents, I struggle with the tug of war between what must get done to keep my house from falling and my job moving forward.
Answer questions
When they are very young, kids ask questions almost non-stop. It can get wearing, and as a parent, I know you may simply not have the time to answer every single question your child may have for you.
I have felt the stinging double edge of being a parent of a curious child. For example, it can sometimes feel like you are being bombarded with questions about simple and complex things.
I have been tempted to simply respond with “that’s just the way it is” or “because I said so” so that I can get on to the next thing. I don’t want to create an environment where my kids feel like expressing their curiosity is never rewarded.
Take time to answer your kids’ questions and explain what you know about the world to them whenever possible. Our kids look to us to help them understand themselves and their world.
Admit to them you don’t know and try to find the answer together.
Those who believe
Everything is possible to only those who believe. Are you a believer? You need to know that the fundamental path to learning or developing any habit is self-belief. Curiosity, like any other habit or skill, is learnable. You should trust yourself to figure things out.
You should have unshakeable faith in your ability to figure things out. Just trust yourself. Give yourself a chance. How then do you develop this self-belief?
You need to replace all the limiting beliefs working against you with uplifting beliefs. Don’t allow the negative thoughts that cloud the mind to get in your way. Find reasons to fuel your desires, self-esteem, and self-confidence.
Until you change your thinking, you cannot change your life. Remember that everything you want to know is available. But then you only get to know it if you consciously and deliberately make an effort to learn and know.
Teach children curiosity … encourage broad interests
Kids’ natural curiosity will lead them towards topics they become passionate about. Right now, these areas of interest are rocks and minerals and mechanics for my son and politics, and environmentalism for my daughter.
There are many questions that I cannot answer for them within these topics, but these questions become opportunities for us to grow as a family, go on adventures, learn about other people, and develop as lifelong learners.
Let your kids lead you in ways as you help them explore their talents. Spend a day with them along a river looking for interesting rocks and fossils, serve your community together, plan stops at locations you know are connected to their passions on your next visit to the in-laws.
Let them know through your words and actions that their passions are important to you. Pursuing these passions, and learning as much as possible about them, can be extremely gratifying. Open yourself up to #epic learning as well.
Don’t let things be taken for granted
Become a person who does not accept things the way they are or the way they are present to you. Have the hunger and desire to probe and dig deeper. Act on the word of Albert Einstein who said; the important thing is not to stop questioning. This is how the numerous inventions and breakthroughs in science were birthed. So if you want to develop the habit of curiosity, never take things for granted.
Teach them to be good observers
Curious people know how to observe the big and little details of the world around them. They are adept at seeing the exciting, mysterious, and interesting in their world. They love finding the details to guide their questions and exploration.
Another way of accomplishing this goal is by showing your kids pictures of interesting places and people. I love asking a question like:
What do you think is happening in this picture and why?
Why do you think this building is shaped this way?
Tell mine about how people are dressed. What can you tell me about their life or part of the world from their clothes?
Teach children curiosity … there are no right answers
John C Maxwell taught me the power of alternative answers. You see, the idea that there is always a single best answer to a problem is false. To every problem, there are multiple solutions or answers. It’s only the curious person who can access these alternative solutions.
You have to decide to start today that you will always dig deep to find multiple or alternative solutions to a problem. This places you in a position where you have to ask focused questions. If you decide today to stop looking for the right answers or solutions, you are on your way to becoming a curious person.
Don’t micromanage the learning
Like you, I want my kids to be successful as they are exploring their world. I can sometimes be guilty of setting things up for them so that there’s little opportunity for failure and mistakes. These are both critical components of the learning and curiosity process.
I have had to challenge myself to step back, allow them to follow processes that I know aren’t going to give them the best result. This is because these small failures often lead to the best learning and deep curiosity as to “why.”
I have to temper my enthusiasm for explaining everything about what the kids are doing, learning, or building to them. I try to challenge them instead to have them explain their thinking to me.
“It is not about what it is. It is about what it can become.” – Dr. Seuss
Allowing kids to make mistakes and safely take risks is something I am working on too. I often feel the need to swoop in and save the day to prevent them from feeling disappointed, discouraged, and frustrated.
Deep down, I know that dealing with these feelings and pushing through to get moving forward again is an important habit of the mind itself connected to resilience and grit, as well as curiosity.
Lately, I have been trying to offer advice and encouragement but allow expressions of wonder and curiosity.
The impact of curiosity
As parents, we can help our kids understand that curious people are the ones who create change and impact the world in positive ways.
Choose inventors and inventions to learn about together such as Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Nicola Tesla, Marie Anderson, Stephanie Kwolek, and Elon Musk.
Help your kids understand that these folks and others used their wonder and curiosity to ask questions, solve problems, and invent things that have changed our world.
Enjoy life
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson;
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.
This is so true. Get over yourself and make that deliberate, conscious choices, mix with all kinds of emotions just enjoy your life. Take on challenges. Go for adventures. Get involved in community projects and more.
You desire to enjoy the life that will drive you into doing things that thrive on curiosity. Decide today to enjoy life, and you will realize how curious you can become.
The bottom line
The universe grants the curious person unusual access to extraordinary greatness
So never be scared of being curious. It is the roots of discoveries and inventions. It opens up options. You think and expand possibilities.
Through curiosity, you can move from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Just by being curious, you make your life interesting, you are always self-motivated to learn, and your imagination is always fired up.
Finally, remember that
To become the true winner that you were created to be, you need to strongly desire to learn and know more by not accepting things the way you see them or the way they are presented to you. Winners are curious people.
