5 Hobby Ideas for Children

Your kids are innately explorative, energetic and playful. Encouraging them to engage in hobbies offers them numerous benefits including enhancing brain development, motor skills and academic acumen. Hobbies also keep them busy and focused.

Here are ideas for hobbies that are good for kids.

Arts and crafts

Arts and crafts help children to strengthen their fine motor skills and improve coordination. They also engage your child’s creativity. Examples of arts and crafts that your child can engage in include crocheting, woodwork, knitting, quilting, drawing, pencil sketching, modeling, making jewelry and color painting.

Fun science experiments

Your child can engage in fun science experiments at home. For instance, the rainbow magic science experiment requires simple ingredients and it’s easy and fun. Your child will be amazed at the explosion of colors at the end of the experiment.

Playing instruments

Learning to play an instrument will teach your child concentration, focus and boost their confidence. Music has a calming effect that can be an ideal hobby if your child is aggressive. Some of the best instruments for children to learn include drums, guitar, sax, piano and flute among others. The appropriate instrument for your child will depend on their interest, age and cost.

From age 7, your child can be able to start sax. Experts recommend that you start your child on the clarinet, then teach them sax. Your child will be able to play both at the end, and a clarinet is easier and lighter to play for younger instrumentalists. A regular sax is heavy and weighs at least 5kg, which can make it difficult for a younger child to play.

Whether you start them off with a clarinet or a sax, buying an instrument is more cost effective in the long run than renting one. However, if you are pressed for budget, you can buy one secondhand. Purchase in a reputable music store or online seller and carefully inspect the instrument before bringing it home.

Games

Games are not only fun, but they also help your child to develop essential life skills such as problem-solving, resilience, strategy and creativity. They also help to develop cognitive abilities such as concentration and improve motor skills.

Most of these games can be played indoors, alone or in the company of other people. Games are an affordable hobby option as you only incur the cost of purchasing the game kit once. Depending on your child’s interest, you can buy more than one type of game kit, so that they can be alternating to avoid boredom from playing one game throughout.

Household chores

Your child might have a chore they love to do that can easily become a hobby. Such chores include gardening and cooking. If your child loves to bake, welcome them to help you out in the kitchen. As they get older, allow them to make age-appropriate recipes. You may also take cooking classes together or enroll them in a child-appropriate cooking class.

Likewise, for children who like to plant flowers, allocate them some space in your garden where they can grow plants of their choice. Vegetables and herbs are easy to grow. If you do not have a garden space, you can make an instant garden using window boxes.

Each child has special interests. In determining which hobby is ideal for your child, pay attention to their interests. If your child is energetic and athletic, let him pick up a hobby in sports. If they are artsy, arts and crafts activities are the best.

Photo Credit: Pexels

About the author: Maria Cannon believes we’re never too young to dedicate ourselves to a hobby. She created HobbyJr to encourage young people to find a hobby they love. Maria has suffered from depression and anxiety for years. Her hobbies--gardening, quilting, sewing, and knitting--play a major role in maintaining her mental health.

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