Nothing is of greater concern to a parent other than the ideal growth of his or her child. The ideal upbringing of a child involves a lot of factors, hobbies being one of them. The type of hobby the child develops will play a big part in determining the character of the child. Bad hobbies lead to questionable characters will good hobbies help build the child’s character. Some children will automatically develop their own hobbies while others need help to help them identify the hobbies. You need to work with them, identify their interests, likes and dislikes and carry out test activities with them in order to help them to identify their hobbies. Hobbies come in different forms, for example, sports, outdoor activities, visual arts and performing arts. So, what are some of the ways your child can benefit from hobbies?
Different hobbies benefit the overall growth of the child differently. Some of the benefits of having hobbies to children include:
- Influencing career choices
Hobbies help to develop lifelong interests and can, therefore, influence the child’s career choice. This helps them to develop a passionate career which improves their general productivity at the workplace.
- Provide bonding time when with friends and or family
Some hobbies for example fishing and hiking bring people together and provide ample time for bonding. Nothing beats carrying out your hobby in the company of family or friends.
- Improve creativity
Certain hobbies for example playing chess helps to open up the mind of the child thereby making them more creative when countering the opponent’s moves.
- Protective measures against destructive activities
Hobbies keep the children occupied and prevent them from engaging in other harmful activities such as taking drugs and getting involved in theft cases.
- Strengthen fine motor skills
Sports hobbies for example playing baseball are known to have exercises which not only strengthen fine motor skills but also better bilateral coordination. The exercises also ensure that they engage in physical activity and as a result help to maintain a healthy body.
- Improve decision making
Specific hobbies help to improve the final decision-making ability of a child. Good examples include playing jigsaw puzzles. The child is able to reason and decide on what to do next.
- Learning about patience
Other hobbies, for example, playing ukulele enables the child to learn about the art of patience. In order for you to learn how to play the instrument well, you need to patiently go through a number of lessons.
- Boost one’s self-confidence and brings a sense of personal accomplishment
When children complete their hobby tasks, for example, preparing meals using easy cooking recipes, they get a sense of personal accomplishment which in turn boosts their self-confidence.
- Develop critical thinking
Some hobbies help the children to develop critical thinking skills for example when playing chess in which a single bad move may make you lose the game. The child gets to plan his or her moves carefully and can further use this in life situations.
- Boost self-esteem
It goes without saying when children successfully complete their hobby tasks; they get a boost in their self-esteem making them feel good about their own achievements.
- Improve competence
Hobbies are one of the best ways to improve the competence of a child when it comes to performing a particular task. They are able to carry out the specific task as their hobby over and over again and in turn become competent.
- Stress reduction
Stress is a real danger to children as most of them do not really know how to deal with it. It is therefore important to keep them away from stress as much as possible by mostly keeping them occupied. Allowing the children to engage in their various constructive hobbies is the best way to keep them occupied.
- Teach problem-solving
Some hobbies revolve around tests that involve the completion of certain tasks. Completing the tasks ultimately equips the child with better problem-solving techniques. These techniques are quite useful in life and can help in solving common problems that would rather require the help of an adult.
- Develop responsibilities
Hobbies help children to develop a sense of responsibility. As much as the child is enjoying the experience, he or she acknowledges the importance of actually completing the task.
- Offer new challenges
Hobbies offer children outlets to challenge themselves better away from the stressful environment of the education program. The children can, later on, use their hobbies to put food on their table. Imagine doing what you like as your source of livelihood.
- Help to explore hidden talents
Hobbies are one of the best ways to help children to identify hidden talents and as a result, practice them more and excel in them. A good example is enrolling the child in an art and craft class because of painting only to realize that he or she is better at designing outfits.
- Improve mental health
Hobbies help the children to concentrate and focus better. As a result, they develop better analytical and reasoning skills that ultimately aid in their cognitive development.
- Build social skills
Certain hobbies for example swimming and singing can bring people together creating avenues for the child to better his or her social interaction skills.
Hobbies create better learning opportunities for your children and help to mould their characters.