24 Ways To Develop Curiosity

Bring your children to the library to study once a while. Use a different route to go to the same place. Simple actions like this will introduce different perspectives and allow children to ask questions.

Mix up the characters and scenes from different stories. Ask “what if” and other open-ended questions. For example, what if Harry Potter wasn’t the one? What if Harry Potter needed to destroy the ring from The Lord of the Ring?

Create a spacious and safe space for kids to run and explore. They do not need to worry about getting scolded after messing up the place.

5. Make the world your classroom

Take a walk outside, or look at the sky at night and wonder aloud about the trees, the sky, the sun and the moon. Perceive everything in your way as a learning opportunity.

6. Follow your child’s interest

Find out what your child is interested in and build curiosity on it. Do more activities revolving her interest. For example, if she likes dinosaurs, give her books about dinosaurs and build dinosaurs using fischer TiPs.

7. Know how to answer their questions

As a parent to curious children, expect to give answers to various level of difficulty questions. You can’t provide the same answer for a 5 year-old-child and a 10-year-old child. Before answering, always clarify things up by asking her thoughts on the question. You don’t want to be giving a different answer to that question.

8. Make reading session a routine.

During the weekend, take a field trip to the library or your local bookstore. Exposing your children to books at an early age will lead her to grow up to be a curious person. The topics do not matter because when they read, it shows that they are giving attention.

9. Stimulate your child with open-ended questions.

Open-ended questions don’t have a right or wrong answer. But, the children need to elaborate their answers. This kind of exercise helps children develop thoughts to ideas, inculcate love and interest and it’s a way for you to know your child better.

10. Let them explore

Sometimes, when children are learning, they tend to turn the house into a big mess with their art materials, building blocks, crayons, and water. Instead of telling them that they can’t do that, transform a room or an available space to their little ‘creator’ studio. In that room, allow your children to explore everything they want to.

11. Allow time for open-ended playtime

Toys like blocks, dress-up or even homemade when used imaginatively can result to forming curious children. Because these toys are open-ended, there is no specific restriction in generating the product. Hence, curiosity and imagination can run wild during the playtime.

12. Ask your children to justify their answers

Encourage children to expand their answers with rationalisation by asking them “WHY” to inculcate critical thinking confidence.

13. Find the answer

It is okay if you don’t know the answer to a question. It shows your children that learning doesn’t stop after school. If your child asks a question that you don’t have the answer for, find the answer together.

14. Give your child tools

Children should be given tools to express their creativity and curiosity. Through this method, they are empowered to control their own life rather than blindly following what is provided for them by someone else. Provide a home library and when the time comes, teach them to use the Internet.

A little tip: Portable curiosity kit– A backpack that contains paper, coloured pencils, ruler, magnifying glass, a pocket dictionary and other necessary things for an on-the-go adventure.

15. Allow your child to make mistakes

Do not pamper your children by redressing their mistakes. Always let them make mistakes, so they can figure out how to solve it. It is imperative to let your children experience disappointment and rejection because after all, that’s life. Instead, provide guidelines and consolation to help them get through it.

16. Banish “boring.”

You don’t want your child to perceive that boredom is okay. So, when he feels disinterested, encourage him to find something interesting. Make it your job that when he feels bored, direct him to something that he is interested in.

17. Teach your child to observe

Get your kids to notice things around them- even the simplest. Start asking questions to spark curiosity. It can be as simple as “How many wheels does a truck has?” to big-picture questions such as “Why does it rain?”.

18. Educate your children about the importance of curiosity

Explain to your children why should they ask all the questions. Tell them that because of curiosity, people are able to come up with everyday inventions such as light bulbs and scissors. Tell him that without Sir John Harrington’s curiosity, we would not have a flushable toilet.

19. Cook together

The list of benefits that children get when learning to cook is endless. One of them is curiosity. They discover about processes of making things that you put on the table for dinner. When they experience how fun it is to cook one dish, they will be curious to learn about other dishes as well.

20. Open-ended stories

It is impossible to circulate the same tales for years every night before sleeping time without them getting bored of it. Prompt their imagination by making the stories open-ended. Start asking questions such as “What if Cinderella got home after 12 o’clock. What would happen?”

21. Be the one who asks the questions

Tap into their curious mind by being the one who asks questions. Think of different types of questions using why, who, how and what if.

22. Travel and visit new places

When children are exposed to other places through TV or books, it is the best way to take them visit the place to satisfy their curiosity. The experience can make them more curious about other things and open them to new knowledge and help mold them into an open-minded person.

23. Encourage your children to study music

A person usually uses only one side of the brain- right or left. But people who study music use both sides of the brain which makes them better at lateral thinking. It can result in them being able to solve problems through a creative approach. When children have a creative mind, they tend to raise questions most people don’t think of.

24. Let your kid be a kid

Throw maturity out the window. Children often want to do things that we adults perceive as inconvenient. But as long as their latest idea isn’t dangerous, it is better to let them explore the world their own way.

Wouldn’t it be proud to see your children making the best of their surrounding by asking questions and investigating things? Curious children are receptive to new information, making them open-minded persons since they are kids. In a nutshell, curiosity really goes a long way.