There is nothing more exciting than watching your children go through the process of discovering the things that they’re passionate about. Whether it’s through school or through life, children discovering new things is a joy to watch and as they learn something new, you can bet that they will be chattering to their friends about it! The more children learn their passions while they’re young, the faster they will develop into well-rounded humans. A child without a hobby is a bored child – and that’s never a good thing!
You have to make sure that your children find things that they’re interested in that will lead them to feel fulfilled and excited, and that may take some time. Not every child will want to spend time on sports but they may want to learn how to quilt and which fabrics to buy to do it. Some children will colour and craft until they feel content but others won’t pick up a paintbrush and will actively avoid it. You need to foster their imaginations and to do that, you have to remember that these are CHILDREN. Holding their attention is going to take some time but once you have it, they can really foster something beautiful. Filling every spare moment isn’t necessary but you should encourage their interests where it’s possible to do so.
Let’s take a look at a list of the benefits your children will gain purely by adding hobbies into their routine.
1. You’ll reduce their stress. Yes, they may be children without the pressures of a job and all that comes with those, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deal with stress. School and social group pressures are stressful and children are under a steady stream of pressure to perform. Exams, friendship groups and more are all stressful for kids and you can help to alleviate that with a conversation. When you discuss their likes, dislikes and their interests, you can – together – come up with the perfect getaway from all of that stress. Hobbies, no matter the hobbies, are going to help.
2. You can nurture their creative potential. The best thing about hobbies for children is that they can help them to reach new creative heights. Even the simplest hobbies such as stamp collections require creativity, particularly in the display. Painting, crafting, drawing, music and arts are all up there to help children to be more creative. If you can help your children to evolve with hobbies, you can give them an outlet for your children to lean into when life gets rough.
3. You can help with their mental health. Children’s mental health is equally as important as adult mental health and the more you recognise this when they’re young, the better they will grow. Children can grow into well rounded individuals and find that their cognitive development is steady as a result. They can improve their reasoning, analytical and problem solving skills at the same time, and you get all that just by helping them to focus on their hobbies.
4. Hobbies will improve physical well being. This is especially the case for hobbies that are active and sporty. Children need to be able to get out of their comfort zone and get out of being in front of their screens. It is a must in a world where we’re all spending too much time doom scrolling and trying not to engage with life. Getting the kids out into the world to have fun physically will improve any weight issues, fitness issues and strengthen their muscles and bones at the same time. You’re doing your kids a favor to help them to build into active individuals who appreciate movement.
5. Hobbies work to build social skills. Hobbies in groups will help your children to build social skills they wouldn’t otherwise have the ability to build. If your children are in Cub Scouts or they’re going to sports teams, you can bet that they’re going to build their social skills at the same time as having fun and exercising. Being part of hobby groups also means interacting with those who have similar interests and helps everybody to improve their skills in one go. Being able to build social skills at the same time outside of the school environment is also important because children need to learn to interact with people of all walks of life. School is great, but it only exposes them to Certain people of a certain age group.
6. You can help to work on their emotional wellbeing. We talked about physical well-being, but it’s also about emotional well-being. Leisure interests can help to boost your child’s self esteem and their confidence. When they are able to be creative and they are able to move their bodies, they will feel good about themselves and that satisfaction that they can get from pursuing their passion is exactly what they need to feel included and excited. If you want to boost the emotional health of your children and keep them happy, engaging them in a hobby that they want to be engaged in is how to go about it. Passionate children are the happiest out there, and hobbies can help them to improve that.
7. You teach them to face challenges head on. Children aren’t always brave enough to stand up to those who are bullying them, and they might find some challenges in their creative pursuits. They can still be passionate about activities that they find challenging, but they’ll learn to overcome them when they are getting involved in new hobbies. This is reflective across real life situations where they’ll find their efforts are warranted and they’re able to overcome the hurdles ahead of them.
8. Hobbies can teach time management skills. One of the skills that children need to go through life is to balance their time correctly. If they are dividing their time between their regular activities, their school, and their hobbies, they’ll learn to manage time effectively. If they can learn to devote their time properly, they’ll learn to do it without sacrificing anything else. This is a skill that will carry them through life, not just through childhood, so you can bet that it’s a great one to teach them.
9. Hobbies can help to improve their knowledge. How many children out there know how to paint with different types of paints like acrylics and watercolors? How many children will understand the rules of a rugby game or a football game? How many children will be able to craft by learning how to use a sewing machine as well as to hand sew? The answer isn’t very much for any of these sections, but expanding your child’s knowledge can be done with the right hobbies. If they like to be outside in the garden, they’ll learn about different types of soil, plants, manure, and flowers. They’ll learn how to plant seeds and what time of year is best for specific fruits and veggies. This amount of knowledge is exciting.
10. You put the boredom at Bay. Children will often feel bored if they’re not being entertained, so finding a hobby that will make them feel happy is going to help. Children can become bored easily and while boredom is great in certain amount A hobby is something to look forward to.If your child has high levels of energy, then channeling that into the right place is a smart idea. Indulging in hobbies can make a big difference to their boredom levels and to you as their entertainment.
