Last Updated on September 4, 2024 by Editorial Team
As a child, we all loved to engage in some fun activities that were simply relaxing and refreshing to us. Whether it is following an ant to find an ant’s nest or collecting different stones just to show them to our friends and family, these simple and joyful activities were a huge part of our childhood. However, today screens and television have replaced these activities to a major part, leaving kids with nothing but a strong desire for video games, gadgets, and television.
In our fast-paced world, technology is indeed required but connecting with nature and engaging in physical activities are equally important, especially for our developing toddlers. So, how to bring kids out of their technology-driven zone and direct them toward more enriching and beneficial activities?
Well, the solution lies in encouraging kids to pursue some hobby of their liking. It is a great option to reduce kids’ screen time and foster their inner potential. Therefore, we have compiled a list of some unique hobbies that as a parent you can encourage your kid to pursue and refine their skills in.
Keep reading to discover some unique hobbies for your kids. But before that, let’s see some benefits of pursuing hobbies in childhood.
Importance of hobbies for little kids
Hobbies are a great medium to reflect and express one’s inner potential and engage in personality-development activities. Along with this, some other benefits are-
- It enhances the self-esteem, self-worth, self-concept, and self-confidence of little kids.
- Promotes social and emotional development of kids.
- Promotes effective interpersonal and intrapersonal communication and improves adaptability in different situations.
- Improves physical health, muscle coordination, and dexterity of developing toddlers.
- Aids in character enhancement and develops cognitive skills and executive skills in kids.
Some fun hobbies for developing kids
Pursuing a hobby is a perfect way to express oneself and one’s interests. If your kid already has some hobbies, we suggest you keep encouraging them, and if you are looking for some hobbies for your kids, here is the list you can refer to.
I. Nature-related hobbies
The section involves hobbies that are generally done outdoors or in nature. Some nature-related hobbies are-
1. Gardening
Gardening is a wonderful hobby that fosters a plethora of life skills in little kids and helps them connect with nature. Whether it is a simple flower garden or a mini vegetable farm, kids have to take care of multiple gardening aspects, such as digging, watering the plants, composting, removing wild weeds, providing sufficient sunlight, and other things. It helps to build confidence in children, promotes autonomy, and makes kids responsible.
Organic farming is similar to gardening, where kids can engage in their own fruit and vegetable organic farms or visit community farms and learn about different veggies, how to grow them, the use of chemical-free fertilizers, harvesting, and so on.
2. Volunteering
Volunteering is a gratifying hobby that promotes socio-emotional development in kids and teaches them gratitude and kindness from a very young age. Little kids can volunteer in various domains with communities, kindergartens, or schools and contribute to making a positive impact on the well-being of fellow humans. Cleaning drives, old-age companion ships, library duties, and so on are some great volunteering options for young minds that they can engage in with parental guidance.
3. Pet rearing
Pet rearing is a wonderful hobby where kids can spend their leisure time with their pets, feeding them, grooming them, playing with them, taking them on a stroll, etc. Pet rearing develops kindness and compassion in kids and makes them responsible for their actions. The bond that kids and animals share is undeniably very Strong and beautiful and engaging in pet-rearing hobbies will further strengthen this bond and will help kids understand the needs and feelings of others by enhancing their awareness. Kids can also visit shelter homes for animals if they don’t have a pet animal.
4. Astronomy or Star-gazing
Astronomy is the study of the universe, galaxies, planets, celestial bodies, etc. Kids don’t need extensive knowledge to pursue this hobby, rather a pinch of curiosity and a gentle push in the field can foster a lifetime interest in star-gazing and astronomy. As a parent, you can provide age-relevant telescopes, models, and charts to your kids and let them learn different astronomical aspects. You can also guide and help them discover new things and make the activity more knowledgeable and fun for kids. Parents can also sometimes take their little learners to observatories or planetariums to further boost their interest.
5. Bird-gazing
Nature is a storehouse of fascinating species. There are millions of species alone for birds that fly in the sky. Bird-gazing is a wonderful activity for little kids who find these species amazing. Simply spending some time on your balcony can help kids find and gaze at plenty of birds. However, species of birds vary from location to location but there are always some unique birds around that kids can spend time with. Along with gazing, kids can also feed them food and water and understand their eating and living patterns. Parents can further arrange a trip to birdhouses to enhance their curiosity and encourage the hobby.
II. Arts and crafts-related Hobbies
This section is all about creativity and uniqueness. Keep reading to learn some amazing arts and crafts-related hobbies-
1. Quilling
Quilling is a form of art involving thin strips of paper that are rolled and arranged in a way to make a pattern or drawing. It is a perfect hobby to channel your inner artist and reflect on it. Young kids can engage in quilling and enhance their artistic selves. Quilling further improves fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination in kids and boosts their cognitive skills. Parents can provide their kids with basic quilling tools and guide them to hone their talent and engage in this wonderful hobby.
2. Origami art
Origami is an ancient Japanese art of paper folding to create unique figures, such as origami butterflies, origami hearts, etc. Origami art promotes the attention, concentration, cognitive skills, and critical thinking skills of kids. Also, enhanced dexterity, eye-hand coordination, fine motor movements, and muscle coordination are some additional benefits of origami art. It helps kids explore and experiment with different paper folding styles and find new techniques to create something new and unique.
3. Pencil art or painting or sketching
Drawing in any form is a wonderful hobby that lets little kids express their inner creativity and hone their artistic skills. Ranging from pencil arts, sketching, and coal paintings, to color arts, color paintings, etc. kids engage in various art forms and develop an interest in arts and crafts. Utilizing DIY Painting ideas using canvas or drawing ideas using shape sheets can be a perfect start to pursuing drawing skills. Guiding and encouraging kids is beneficial to keep them motivated throughout their artistic journey and turn their childhood hobby into a unique talent.
4. Sculpting
Sculpting is an art form of molding sand and clay to create pottery and other sand-related tools. If your kids love to get their hands dirty and create unique objects from sand and clay, then sculpting is a perfect hobby for your kids. You can have your kids join some sculpting classes to further promote and enhance their skills and develop their interest in it. Sculpting is great for improving muscle coordination, fine motor skills, and executive skills in developing toddlers.
5. Scrapbook
If your kid has a passion for art and can use a pair of scissors then maintaining a scrapbook can be a fun hobby for them. Maintaining a scrapbook boosts creative and cognitive skills. Kids can record their precious moments or day-to-day life or anything they feel like using a scrap in a diary or a book. Maintaining a scrapbook over the years will bring them utter joy and pride in their skills along with a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.
III. Performance related Hobbies
If your kid loves to perform and knows how to capture other’s attention, you have a perfect list of some performance-related hobbies.
1. Dancing
Dancing is a perfect amalgam of physical activity and fun. Whether it’s the freestyle or some classical dance form your kid is interested in, ensure to encourage and foster his/her skills in the same. Taking dancing from a young age improves flexibility, dexterity, muscle movement, and muscle coordination in kids. As a parent, you can also enroll your kid in some dance classes and let his/her talent shine the brightest.
2. Singing
If music and tunes fascinate your kid, chances are high that he/ she will enjoy singing and engaging in musical activities. Kids don’t need any instrument or tool to pursue singing, rather proper guidance, purposeful training, and disciplined practice are what are needed to hone the passion for singing and develop the skills to be an outstanding singer. Singing and musical classes are super helpful in embracing the passion for singing and refining it.
3. Playing musical instruments
If not singing then maybe playing musical instruments is what your kid loves to do. Learning to play any musical instrument requires passion, patience, dedication, and will to perform. Working and playing musical instruments will develop character, boost self-confidence, and foster positive life skills in your kids. Bring the instrument of your kid’s liking to him and let him/her practice and refine their skills to achieve proficiency. Alternatively, musical classes are always there to foster the talent in kids.
4. Acting or Drama
You know you have a budding actor in your kid when your kid has the charisma to hold and retain other’s attention and impress with his/her performance. Acting or drama is a wonderful performance hobby that builds confidence and self-esteem and helps kids express themselves. It further helps in character development and improves the communication skills of the growing kids. As a parent, you can encourage your kid to participate in school or community drama programs to refine their skills and boost their confidence. Additionally, acting classes are a great option to hone the acting skills.
5. Puppetry
Puppetry is a fulfilling hobby that allows kids to reflect on their inner potential and express their thoughts and emotions in front of the world. Kids don’t require the knowledge to prepare puppets to try their hands at puppetry, rather they can get them from nearby stores. It will improve kids’ storytelling skills, communication skills, muscle movements, and creative skills. While kids are narrating a story with their puppets, they will better understand various emotions, perspectives of others, and their thought processes which are necessary for character development. Once kids are skilled with the narrating part, they can engage in making puppets from scratch.
IV. General hobbies
Here, we have added some unique but super fun hobbies that you can consider for your kids. Some general hobby ideas are-
1. Cooking and baking
If your kid enjoys spending time in the kitchen with you, helping in daily kitchen chores, and learning about the preparation of food then cooking and baking will be a wonderful hobby to pursue for your kid. You can encourage cooking and baking skills in your kid with simple recipes, like baking bread, frisking eggs, breaking the eggs, and so on. If your kids find this interesting then they will easily catch up to complex cooking and baking skills with little guidance and support. Additionally, cooking and baking are important life skills, and engaging in them improves cognitive skills and makes kids more responsible.
2. Reading
Remember the days when your toddler is always busy reading some books and cannot stop talking about it? Yes, this is the sign that your kid has found a perfect hobby for himself/herself, that is reading. Whether it is a comic book or some kid’s version of nonfiction, books have an appeal to themselves that is hard to overlook. And worry not, if your kid runs away from reading. Maybe experimenting with different genres or themes will help your kid find his/her interest in reading. Reading is useful for enhancing cognitive skills, executive skills, creative thinking, and analytical thinking, and boosting autistic thinking in young kids. With proper guidance and encouragement, along with reading kids might even take up story writing in the near future.
3. Sports
Engaging in sports is a perfect hobby for those kids who are always brimming with energy and require a healthy outlet to spend their pent-up energy. Kids can engage in various sports from a very young age such as soccer, baseball, bowling, cycling, running, and so on. Indoor games such as chess are also wonderful sports to engage in. Additionally, martial arts, gymnastics, and karate for kids can also be pursued by little kids as their hobby. These sports are perfect for boosting concentration in kids and helping them grow physically strong. Parents can encourage their kids to participate in school competitions or games and nurture their talents.
4. Collecting objects
A simple yet joyful hobby that can make children full of pride because of their collections. Kids love to collect different objects such as coins, stamps, pebbles, etc, and make a beautiful collection of the same. It provides kids with a sense of responsibility towards their collection and teaches them patience and dedication toward a cause. Kids can skim their surroundings, homes, gardens, etc to collect the objects and place them safely with their collection. Collecting objects also boosts kids’ knowledge since kids will be aware and curious about the objects they are collecting and how it is different from others. A wonderful hobby with a plethora of benefits that will help your kid channel his/her energy somewhere productive.
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Concluding thoughts
Pursuing a hobby in childhood is nothing less than therapeutic for kids. It helps reduce stress, save kids from passivity, and decreases day-to-day life boredom. It’s a perfect refreshing activity that kids can engage in to lighten their day and fill it with more joy and positivity. The health-related benefits of pursuing a hobby are multiple and spending an hour or two in a day or even a week can help kids enjoy all those benefits. So, motivate your kids to drop those gadgets for some time and engage in some fulfilling hobbies that surely will bring the little kids a plethora of joy.
I am Sehjal Goel, a psychology student, and a writer. I am currently pursuing my Masters’s from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Child psychology has always fascinated me and I have a deep interest in learning about disabilities in children and spreading awareness regarding the same. My other areas of interest are neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. Connect me on Linkedin