The picture above is of my daughter at our local library reading to the dogs in the Love on a Leash program. I thought this was a great photo to go with this contributed post because it covers two hobbies–a love/interest in animals and reading. I agree with everything this post says about finding hobbies for your children that they enjoy. I think that is the key–that they enjoy. Also, in my family, we try very hard (although it is not always successful) to not sign up for too many activities at a time because we also need time at home as a family. 

Just like adults have interests and hobbies, so do kids. What are some hobbies you can help your child explore and decide whether or not they are right for them?   If you want to see your child’s eyes light up, it’s the extracurriculars that they are involved in that often excite them and can even lead to an early career path. Of course, there are plenty of children who find joy in mathematics and science; but if you ask most children if they want to sit and learn in the classroom, or go out and play in the sunshine, it’s a no-brainer.

Activities outside the classroom are what help to shape their personalities and their interests, with their physical and emotional health being nurtured by the hobbies they choose. As a parent, you want to have well-rounded children who are secure and happy. One of the best ways that you can do this is to encourage them to get involved in activities they like. Hobbies are the way that children can dip a toe into activities and figure out what they love the most.

Finding the right hobby could take some time. Some children don’t realize, for example, that they have a love of collectibles until they start taking an interest in location magnets, badges, figurines, or even rare coins, like the ones that you can find on this link. Collecting has been a hobby that goes back for years, and it isn’t a limited one when you can basically collect everything and anything.

You can teach your children how to find a hobby that they love by doing the activities with them and helping them to spread their wings. Here are some ideas:

Music.

One popular hobby that parents encourage in their children is music. Instruments, singing, and even dance are all ways to explore music. By exposing children to music from an early age, you can encourage a love of expression. They can learn which instruments they may want to learn to play; and if you yourself have a talent for an instrument, you can get them involved that way. Not only does music bring you closer together in this case, it helps your children to learn how to read music and understand it on a whole new level. Always encourage enrolling in music and singing lessons from a very young age if you can, as a talent for playing an instrument can be invaluable as they get older.

Art.

When it comes to hobbies, crafts are probably up in the top five that children love to do. Anything involving glitter, paint, chalks, crayons, pastels and charcoal are all messy but all very expressionist. You can encourage your children to go wild and embrace the mini artist within. If you want to go one step further, think about enrolling your child into sewing classes. It’s a bit of a lost art in schools at the moment where textiles are concerned, but the talent to be able to repair their own clothes doesn’t just encourage them to learn a skill. It teaches them the value of repairing before replacing, which can feed into their rest of their lives. There is nothing that limits craft projects for children, because you can choose to buy supplies or head out into nature and learn rubbing with charcoal and rocks or finding different colors in leaves to then put together for an autumn collage. This hobby can really help your children to be creative and expressive.

Sports.

Schools across the country are big on sports, and for good reason. Sports teams help to foster a sense of community, teamwork, and togetherness; and the skills that children learn in sports can stay with them their entire lives. To continue to play the sport that they want once in junior high or high school, they have to keep their grades up, which is an incentive . Children who are encouraged to play sports often live very healthy lives, and prefer to be outside on their bikes and in nature than cooped up indoors doing nothing. The friendships that are fostered while on a sports team can last for an entire childhood, cementing memories when they’ve grown up.

Reading.

It’s not a hobby that most think of now that we live in an age of digital books, rather than paperback, but there is a huge base for those who enjoy the smell of a new tome, or cracking the spine of a new story. Sitting with your child and reading with them creates a strong bond, especially where you are then able to discuss the story with them and help them to learn about the characters. You are encouraging them to have an imagination when you are encouraging them to read. You also help your child to develop their vocabulary and their language. There’s nothing more exciting than knowing you have a child with a creative and reflective imagination, who uses their hobby of reading to make up their own stories and have fun doing it.

Hobbies can change the way that your children think.  Watch your children grow and develop, simply by encouraging new hobbies within them.

What hobbies do your children and grandchildren enjoy?