Hobbies and activities of the child

Can parents encourage their child to do something? Or will he himself try until the age of 15-17, until he finds what he needs? Do you count on luck alone? Should all pressure and advice from adults be avoided? Almost all parents ask themselves these questions.

What can be done to get a young child involved in something?

Of course, any kid will be useful and interested in classes under the guidance of a specialist in the company of peers — in a circle, in an art studio, etc. And if there is no such possibility: to carry far, there are no specialists? ..

Try to establish a creative process at home: without holding down the initiative of the baby, tell him what to do and what to use for this.

1. Create conditions for your child at home for games and creativity. Equip several zones that he will use as he sees fit:

• a corner for quiet rest and reading, for relaxation — with a carpet, pillows, a cozy lamp;
• a place on the floor for classes with large toys — a designer, a railway, a puppet theater;
• a large enough table for drawing, board games — alone or with friends;
• a place where the child could equip himself with a secret shelter with the help of blankets and other improvised means — like a tent, a hut or a house;
• a box for toys and things useful in the game, from time to time you can transfer some of the forgotten toys from an ordinary cabinet or rack to this chest, add other items there that can awaken the child’s imagination

2. Master the usual types of children’s creativity with your child (drawing, modeling, designing, appliqué, playing music, staging, etc.) and show how you can diversify these activities:

• Anything can be used as visual aids. For drawing — ordinary sand and bulk products — cereals, for application — threads, leaves, shells and pebbles, for sculpture — mashed potatoes, papier-mâché and shaving foam, instead of a brush — your own fingers or palms, a rolling pin, etc.
• for design and construction, offer a variety of materials from a ready-made designer to improvised means — for example, cardboard boxes of different sizes.
• try to support the research and experimental interests of the baby — on a walk, on a trip, at home.
• help the child master the possibilities of his own body — offer games to develop coordination of movements, spatial representations, outdoor games.

3. Choose gifts that can become the basis of a future hobby:

• stimulating imagination, fantasy,
• gifts that help you learn new skills — various tools, handicraft kits, perhaps devices — such as a camera or microscope,
• interesting reference publications, encyclopedias (possibly in electronic form), musical recordings, video films, albums with reproductions, theater subscriptions.

4. Tell your son or daughter about your own childhood hobbies. Maybe you still keep albums with your children’s collection of stamps or badges — look at them with your child, look for information about what people don’t collect, help choose and start a new collection.

5. Of course, do not forget to go on excursions and various museums from time to time. Find an opportunity to introduce your son or daughter to professionals — for sure, among your acquaintances there will be an artist, sculptor, architect, doctor or research scientist. You can visit the artist’s studio, an operation in a hospital or restoration work in a museum.

And if the child is so passionate about some activity that he forgets about studying?

It is possible that such a strong passion will become the basis for choosing a future profession. So, you can try to convince a child or teenager that mastering school knowledge will help him become a real professional. The future fashion designer needs to create patterns — for this it would be good to master the basics of geometry and drawing skills, to know history and ethnography, an athlete needs knowledge of anatomy and physiology, etc.

Is it worth it to insist on classes in a circle or section if the child is not interested in them?

First of all, this is a problem of choice — the child himself made it, or you helped him orient himself, or simply imposed your ideas about what would be useful to him in life.

For example, often one of the parents dreams of raising a professional musician out of their son or daughter, because it didn’t work out in childhood — there were no conditions or their own parents weren’t so persistent.

Of course, we all know examples when this perseverance did not bear fruit, but gave directly opposite results: the child either chose a completely different direction for himself, or became a passive, uncreative performer.

It should be borne in mind: not many children have stable interests already formed by the age of 10-12. On the one hand, there is always time to search. Give your child a wide range of choices. On the other hand, it is necessary to maintain his interest in the chosen occupation.

Much will depend on your support, including material support. Are you interested in what the child is doing in a circle or section, what successes he has, how relations with the guys develop there, how to help him. Do you try to supply everything you need for classes — be it a sports uniform, a racket «like everyone else» or an easel and expensive paints.

Should the child be allowed to change activities like gloves?

Find out first what prevents the child or teenager from keeping their interest in one thing. It is not at all necessary that this is natural laziness or frivolity. The reasons can be very different.

Perhaps the relationship with the head of the circle or the coach, with one of the guys did not work out. Or the child quickly loses interest if he does not see immediate results. He can painfully experience the successes of others and his own failures. It is possible that he or his parents overestimated his ability for this particular occupation. In any of these cases, the situation can be changed.

Pressure and reproaches for frivolity will not make a child more serious and purposeful. In the end, the main thing is that hobbies make his current and future life more interesting and richer. As the People’s Artist of Russia, Professor Zinovy ​​Korogodsky said, “the creative interests of a child cannot be treated pragmatically, counting what “dividends” his hobby will bring in the near future. It will bring spiritual wealth, which is necessary for a doctor, and a pilot, and a businessman, and a cleaning lady.