Importance of Developing Hobbies In Children
In this fast-paced world where everyone wants to get ahead in the rat race, parents want their children to surpass the competition and get ahead by excelling in their academic demeanor.
In addition, with today's digitalization children are mostly expected to be ducked into their screens for various academic activities which also make them habituated to screens with zero interest to pursue other real hobbies.
Also, hobbies are usually considered a distraction from such academic compulsions, as pursuing one is misjudged as indulging in pleasure and fun.
On the other hand, parents also want their children to be multifaceted individuals to surpass all the challenges in their upcoming lives. The importance of hobbies for a child's holistic development plays an important role here where the essential skills learnt while enjoying the pass time complements perfectly with the knowledge of the books, thus making the children smarter to overcome any obstacle in real life.
Benefits Associated With Hobbies
Children who have hobbies gain much from them as they grow in social, physical, mental, emotional, and cognitive areas of their lives. Encouraging children's hobbies is a great way to enable them to explore their hidden selves through their interests, which give them a means to cope with the differing viewpoints in their lives. They are linked to a number of advantages.
1. Fosters Creativity
By instilling a feeling of curiosity in kids, hobbies can encourage creativity in them. Their curiosity provides them the freedom to explore and experiment in their studies as well, thus helping them understand their uniqueness and sense of self.
Various hobbies develop various life skills, which eventually results in wonders that gradually surface in their lifetime.
2. Enhances self-confidence
Self-expression is a quintessential aspect for creative, emotional, social, and analytical judgment to bloom. The right form of self-expression leads to the building of self-confidence in children.
For instance, children get a sense of achievement when they finish or appreciate a clay model, Lego building, painting, origami, book reading, etc. This boosts their self-confidence and makes them feel more capable of facing life's obstacles.
3. Enhances cognitive abilities
Developing your children's cognitive skills in their early years is beneficial for their overall development.
The neural connections in the brain are very active during the early years of childhood. Therefore, the increased activity of the brain like memory games, puzzles, Lego building etc. helps in establishing a proper channel of links between neurons in mind of the children, thus making them aware and active.
The decision-making, problem-solving, emotional and mental well-being, resilience, critical thinking and patience are all a part of cognitive learning that guides one in the future.
4. Learn Teamwork
Indulging your children in a hobby that requires teamwork, like sports, indoor games, cooking, science experiments, etc., inculcates a sense of sportive spirit, persistence, patience, and determination, thus leading to successful teamwork.
Teamwork is a highly essential skill to incorporate to instill in children cooperation, tolerance, optimism, empathy, and unity.
5. Imparts time management skills
Proper allotment of your children's time into academics and hobbies helps them learn about time management, the importance of which cannot be expressed in the later years of life.
Aids in mental and physical well-being: Hobbies are an escape from the feelings you love. Whenever you are happy, your body releases endorphins, a happy hormone.
Thus, pushing your child into choosing a hobby will always boost their mental and physical well-being, paving the way for their optimum stress management in the future.
6. Boosts concentration
Indulging your child in some activities like reading, painting, cooking, gardening, board games, puzzles, etc. motivates them to find creative solutions to challenges incorporated in these activities.
When they succeed in completing a task with sheer focus and determination, they realize the potential benefits of concentration and attention to the task at hand, which refines their future.
7. Enhances Resilience
Getting your child involved in sports, art, writing, reading, pottery, etc. teaches them patience, perseverance, and determination. The skills and confidence your child gains from pursuing any hobby also helps them feel competent and resilient.
Resilience is one of the most crucial qualities needed to navigate the unpredictable world of life.
8. Instills emotional intelligence
Indulging the children in a hobby like board games, Lego structures, painting, sports, etc. inculcates various essential social, communication, emotional, empathizing, and teamwork spirit in them.
Working together helps the children bond on an emotional and mental level, thus igniting emotional intelligence in them.
9. Develops a feeling of accomplishment
The progress made while learning a musical instrument, cooking a dish, seeing your planted seed sprout, completing the painting, etc. instills a sense of accomplishment in children, thus boosting their self-confidence, resilience, emotional, and cognitive skills, guiding them in the future.
Encouraging Creativity Through Hobbies
Hobbies are a way of encouraging creativity in children, which motivates them to think outside the box, accept challenges fearlessly, and experiment with joy towards their passions, be it a board game, puzzle solving, gardening, sports, or even life.
This creativity of curious exploration, trying, and failing instills a problem-solving attitude in children with resilience and determination to excel.
Nurturing hobbies in children is one of the quintessential tasks for parents because you are not just keeping them occupied for the time being but also preparing them for their lives.
Importance Of Limiting Screen Time In Children
With all of us in the digital age, screens have become an integral part of our lives. However, sometimes, due to our busy schedules, we tend to give screens to our little ones, which is very detrimental to their emotional, physical, and mental well-being.
While encouraging your children to pursue a hobby, make sure to limit their screen time as well. Also, it is recommended to never expose the screens to children younger than 18 months, beyond which they should be limited.
Various effects due to increased screen time include:
- Obesity
- Lack of social skills.
- Difficulty in communication.
- Risk of chronic disease.
- Emotional instability.
- Mood swings.
- Lack of cognitive development.
- Attention deficiency.
- Impact on academic performance.
- Difficulty sleeping.
Hobby Ideas for Children In India
Various hobby ideas for children in India encourage creativity and various other essential life skills that prepare them for the future.
Musical instrument: Builds hand-eye coordination, focus, motor skills, and emotional expression.
Story reading: Enhances imagination, communication, empathy, and memory.
Gardening: Teaches responsibility, discipline, patience, health habitat, and environmental consciousness.
Clay modeling: Builds creativity, motor skills, patience, and self-expression.
Lego building: Enhances problem-solving, spatial awareness, persistence, organization, and attention to detail.
Painting: Enhances creativity, imagination, color recognition, and emotional expression.
Reading: Enhances vocabulary, communication skills, and imagination.
Puzzle-solving: Enhances problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and spatial awareness.
Board games: Enhances decision-making and planning.
Scientific experimentation: Enhances curiosity, imagination, critical thinking, action, and reaction.
Cooking or baking: Following sequence and series, measurement, and curiosity.
Developing Life Skills With Childhood Hobbies
The importance of developing life skills with childhood hobbies is realized when the children utilize those skills to cope with differing perceptions of lives.
It is scientifically proven that the best age to start indulging your children in a new activity or hobby is 0 to 8 years, as that is believed to be the optimal age to develop new neural connections, which are a reaction to new learning, experiences, and external stimuli.
The simultaneous improvement leads to various functional and structural changes in the brain, which makes the children more adaptable and resilient in their later years.
By encouraging them to choose a hobby at a young age, we incorporate the habit of lifelong learning experiences in them.
Also, there have been many instances and examples when several personalities have been highlighted for their unique innovations and discoveries, the foundation of which had been laid by one of their hobbies.
RATAN TATA: A well-known philanthropist and one of the most loved men in the world. His dedication to social service, especially education and health care, to make the world a better place has made TATA stand out from its competitors.
Also, it was only because of his interest in automobiles that he came up with the innovative Tata Nano, the most affordable four-wheeler, also bagging many awards for such a unique invention.
JK ROWLING: Everyone knows who she is! The creator of one of the most mind-blowing series of Harry Potter! It was her sheer passion for reading and writing stories that led her to create a magical world for the children.
Her international accolades and recognition for her work were the result of her perseverance, creativity, and curiosity that she developed over the years by following her hobby of reading.
ELON MUSK: He has had a keen interest in coding, technology, and science since his childhood. Later, these interests led to the rise of an entrepreneur, and he began his first video game company during his teen years.
Today, with his specialization in AI, Hyperloop, Neuralink, etc., his fame and recognition are beyond bounds, and he is considered one of the most visionary tech entrepreneurs of the 21st century.
A.R. RAHMAN: He is one of the most prominent musicians around the world. He accomplished this phenomenal milestone due to his love for music from a young age.
STEVE JOBS: The founder of Apple indulged in electronics and design from a young age, which shaped his mind to think outside the box and led to the revolution of the consumer electronic industry.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Well, who doesn't know this brilliant scientist! He loved playing the violin, which not only served as his entertainment but also inculcated problem-solving abilities that immensely shaped his scientific career.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Developing life skills with childhood hobbies is a gradual process, the fruit of which is reaped throughout life. These hobbies inculcate a sense of mastery both on the personal and professional front. This excellence comes in handy in the later years of life.
It is important to understand that children are great imitators. So, rather than forcing them to choose a hobby, it is always beneficial that you prove it by setting an example.
Pursuing your favorite hobby and telling them about the fun and benefits will make your child imitate you or indulge in something they love to do.
Raising a child requires a village, and raising a well-developed child requires a lot of villages. So, be mindful of the example you set in front of your children, because they will always follow your lead!