5 Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Curiosity

Curiosity is a highly underrated aspect of our personalities and, though it’s usually naturally strong in children, tends to fade away as we get older. One of the goals of parenting should be to raise inquisitive and curious children who don’t lose these personality features as they reach adulthood. Want to know how to encourage curiosity in your child? Here are five proven ways.

Model Curiosity

Our children are always watching and listening to everyone around them to see how things should be done. Since they are around you more than anyone else, you are their primary role model. Do you express your curiosity about how things work or why things are the way they are? Do you ask a lot of questions and then work hard to find the answers? Curious adults raise curious children.

Introduce Novelty

Your child may want to eat chicken nuggets every night for dinner, but giving in to routine to make things easier is not conducive to curiosity. When you switch up routines or schedules, you are encouraging questions and inquisitiveness. Encourage them to think about the changes and if they like them more or less than the norm. 

Encourage Questions

The endless questions that children ask can be exhausting, but don’t be tempted to shut them down. Questions are the way children learn and, if you answer their questions and encourage them to continue asking them, it’s a sign that their curiosity is welcome. You can also encourage them to ask questions of others, especially those they can learn from. When you’re at the doctor’s office, let them know they can ask their pediatrician any questions about their health. If your kids are in sports, tell them to ask their coach how they can improve or even why he chose the color of uniforms they wear.

Don’t Set Too Strict of Parameters

You may think that they need to color their Disney princess in a certain way or wear clothes that match, but micromanaging your child is a curiosity-killer. You need to keep them safe, yes, but you shouldn’t worry too much if they aren’t doing everything by the book or the way you would do it. Letting kids play and create in the way they want is a way to ignite curiosity and creativity.

Show Them How Mistakes Are Positive

Children need to learn that mistakes are great learning opportunities and the easiest way to get better at something. When your child makes a mistake, celebrate it instead of making them feel bad about it. Encourage them to think about why the results weren’t what they wanted and how they can do things differently next time. You also should model the same thing with your own mistakes. If you beat yourself up over something you did wrong, your kids will get the message that mistakes are to be avoided at all costs

Curious children are more intelligent and better able to handle whatever the world throws at them. Use these five tips to model the right behavior and encourage their curiosity.