Innately curious, children ask questions, intent to explore and discover as much of their world as possible. Let’s ask ourselves, as fathers, what can we do to support the purity of our children’s beautiful curiosity? Whenever kids actively seek information and experience, uplift them and their inquisitive minds to take on new challenges with new approaches to create new horizons!
Why Curiosity is Important
The minds of curious people actively seek new knowledge and new understanding, improving their capacity to optimize outcomes. Asking smart questions, learning from others, and looking for ways to improve the world around us… these tendencies all depend on being curious.
Channeling Curiosity
The desire to learn and the determination to understand—these create great advantages in life. Curious children are more likely to hunt down, soak up, and accumulate knowledge in whichever activities, hobbies, or passions light their fire. Lots of children want to learn how things work or how to fix or improve things, these pursuits grant kids the privilege of new and unique perspectives. Curiosity drives us to poke, prod, and shake things up. As children explore the world, they make discoveries and reveal insights. New foods, different cultures, and foreign places elevate and empower them with an expanded worldview.
At the intersection of curiosity and need, we can deliver innovation to change the world. Greek philosopher, Plato, wrote, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
Directed to activities that can add value, curiosity is an excellent habit. Conversely, curiosity can be directed to value-drain and time-suck activities, such as aimlessly browsing social media, watching reality TV shows, and worse, detrimental exploration into drugs and alcohol. It’s important to help children learn what curiosity means for them and how to harness its power. Especially for children who possess game-changing potential to ascend to the highest rung of success and beyond, fathers have a responsibility to ensure their child’s ladder is up against the right wall.
Supporting Curiosity in Children
Irish-British statesman, Edmund Burke, wrote, “The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity.” By nature, most children are very curious. Encourage them to ask questions, learn new things, read books, and have hobbies; fan the flames of their intellectual curiosity to continue burning brightly. Curiosity is a crucial ingredient for success at every age. Children need it for optimal growth and development; adults need it to thrive both personally and professionally. To lead a more boring life, live without curiosity. To find unending learning and its fountain of vitality, we only need be more curious.
Formal education—while important—tends to stifle curiosity over time. As children pass through grade after grade of standardized curriculum, there is an inevitable indoctrination to the “box-thinking” of certain academic methodologies. As parents, one best practice to regularly tap into our own inquisitiveness, allow our curiosity to shine in front of our children. Be creative. Stimulate THEIR creativity. Keep both us and them young at heart. Go on adventures, spend time together as a family. Invite curious, well-traveled friends with vast life experiences to enjoy dinner with the family. If a child has a celebration coming up, ask friends and family not to give gifts, but experiences. Ask open-ended questions and encourage children to explore their natural interests. Wonder aloud with them about hopes, goals, and dreams. Most of all, let kids be kids.
Summary
Curiosity and innovation have propelled humanity to the top of the food chain. Today, we are the apex predator. How does this relate to being a father? When children possess a spirit of curiosity, they truly become capable of anything—it’s all up to them to find and follow their own path. As we support our children in pursuing their dreams, remind them to hold onto the imaginative spark of childhood curiosity, encourage them to keep it alive and well all the days of their lives.
“It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.”
—Proverbs 25:2 NLT
Curious George by H.A. & Margaret Rey (2 – 5 years)
The first story about George, the curious little monkey and his friend, the man with the yellow hat, begin a life of mischief and adventure so beloved by generations of readers.
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (3 – 7 years)
Ada champions girl power and women scientists in a celebration of curiosity, the power perseverance, and the importance of asking “Why?”
Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It by Ian Leslie
Everyone is born curious. But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning, and discovering as they grow older. Those who do so tend to be smarter, more creative, and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly monopolized by the cognitive elite.
The Curious Garden
by Peter Brown (3 – 6 years)
Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations.
Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum (4 – 9 years)
Curiosity comes to life in vivid color: deep blues of space set off the warm, rusted hues of Mars’s dusty red surface, marking this rover and her mission as something special—truly a world apart.
The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity
by Robin Ince
The Importance of Being Interested explores why many wrongly think of the discipline as distant and difficult. From the glorious appeal of the stars above to why scientific curiosity can encourage much needed intellectual humility, this optimistic and profound book will leave you filled with a thirst for intellectual adventure.
PLEASE NOTE: As an Amazon Associate, Fathers Truly Matter earns from qualifying purchases. The information in this post should not be construed as providing specific psychiatric, psychological, or medical advice, but rather to offer readers information to better understand the lives and health of themselves and their children. It is not intended to provide an alternative to professional treatment or to replace the services of a physician, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist.
