My love for art and craft goes far back. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t painting, sketching, designing, making a scrapbook or absorbed in some other artsy activity during my free time. To this day, you can find art supplies strewn across the floor during the weekends – much to my 5-year-old daughter’s delight. Art and craft is now a shared hobby with my little one and you can find all our masterpieces hanging on our walls or placed elsewhere in the house.
Hobbies are healthy, especially for kids. They help them express and discover their hidden talents. There’s no telling what your child is good at until you give him or her the platform to unearth these talents. I believe you should introduce different kinds of hobbies to your kids gradually and let them choose what they like and continue it as they like.
Here are a few hobby ideas – some of which I have introduced to my daughter and some I have yet to introduce.
Sports hobbies
It’s not an uncommon sight to see children engrossed in games on phones and tablets today. Seeing a street filled with kids playing in the evening has become a rare sight unlike how it used to be back in the day when we had no phones and laptops. Sports hobbies push these lazy and tech-addicted bums out of their couches and out on the field.
A few of the sports hobbies your child can try out are:
- Rollerskating
- Basketball
- Cricket
- Badminton
- Tennis
- Swimming
- Mini Golf
- Aerobics
- Gymnastics
Sports keep children active and quicken their minds. Their eye-hand coordination and gross motor skills get better with practice too. Playing sports regularly will even boost the child’s self-confidence while keeping him mentally and physically fit.
Art and craft hobbies
Little ones love playing with colour. There’s hardly any house with a toddler I know of that has at least one wall that’s been glorified with their expert strokes.
Some of the art and craft classes you can take your child to are:
- Painting
- Origami
- Scrapbooking
- Sculpting
- Sketching
Indulging in art and craft activities is fun and unleashes the creativity in young minds.
Skilled hobbies
If you sense that your child has a flair for a certain thing, say, cooking, you should encourage him or her to help out in the kitchen, take suggestions, let them handle a small part of the cooking, and so on. Their interest is bound to grow and in no time you will have your very own Master Chef at home.
A few skilled hobbies that I can think of off the top of my head are:
- Photography
- Gardening
- Cooking
- Baking
- Organic farming
Skilled hobbies will keep your child busy and probably become his or full-time profession in the future!
Performing arts hobbies
Performing arts offer a wonderful way to let your child’s imagination soar. Take your child to different kinds of performing arts classes to see if he or she enjoys any. Don’t pressurise them into doing anything they don’t want to though!
A few of the popular performing arts are:
- Singing
- Dance
- Playing instruments
- Magic tricks
- Acting
- Story-telling
Performing arts improve communication skills in children and build self-confidence too. They also help kids improve concentration and memory. A combination of studies and performing arts is said to show good results in academics.
Interest hobbies
If you happen to find a box of collected items hidden in your child’s wardrobe, he or she probably has an interest in collecting specific things – be it seashells, stamps, cards, marbles, or toys. Offer guidance on how he or she can find more of these things to encourage the hobby.
A few of the interest-hobbies I can think of are:
- Astronomy
- Collecting items
- Bird watching
- Solving puzzles
- Reading
Children might develop an interest in something by learning from friends, watching it on TV, or following their instinct. Hobbies enrich our lives and give us a break from our stressful work lives. Help your child find his or her favourite hobby so that they can find solace in it too.
What’s your favourite hobby? Does your child have one too? Do let me know in the comment section.
4 Responses