Contrary to what you might think, you are not born curious, you become it. Here are some tips to stimulate your child's curiosity.
Books
Leaving books around the house, a lot. Curiosity is intrinsic to being human. All it takes is for your child to have a downtime during the day, if he no longer wants to play the console or if he stops watching television for his attention to be directed to the objects around him. He will naturally flip through the books and magazines he comes across.
Developing Interests
Encourage them to pursue their interests. They like hockey? Show them how it was played back in the days of the original six clubs. If you played hockey when you were young, tell them stories of your games in the alleys or on the rink.
They have an interest in science? Encourage them to carry out simple experiments that will allow them to observe surprising phenomena. The Éducatout site and that of the magazine Les Débrouillards offer many suggestions for the curious in need of ideas.
Questions & Answers
Rather than listening to the radio or music, take advantage of car trips to ask your children questions. Do not hesitate to remind them to encourage them to reflect. For example, you could ask them why in some countries it is always hot, while here there are cold seasons and hot seasons. Or what about all the leaves falling in the fall? Where are they going?
Knowledge Challenges
You and your children can also set themselves "weekly challenges". Each week, ask yourself a question and challenge yourself to answer it. The important thing is not to find the exact answer, but to have fun, to make it a stimulating ritual. For example, you could ask your child to tell you how many video games there are in the world. For his part, he might ask you how many stars there are in the solar system. At the end of the week, take stock of your research, say what difficulties you had, and if you are certain of your answers.
Observation
Encourage your children to observe the world around them. It is from observation that the fundamental questions are born, which are often the least complicated. For example, have you ever wondered, looking at a starry sky, what it feels like to be in space? Have you ever wondered why we are on the planet, why wearrived here, what kind of force hides behind all that our senses perceive?
Once you start the process of questioning and curiosity, there is no turning back.
Research has shown that to be curious about a subject, there must be a “knowledge gap” that you want to fill. In other words, you must already have a minimum of knowledge to want to know more. So all it takes is a little push for your child to develop their curiosity gene!
