Cultivating Curiosity in Your Child

At Minnesota Children’s Museum, we know that fostering curiosity is crucial for helping children develop a lifelong love of learning. It’s baked right into the open-ended experiences we offer at the museum, encouraging kids to take chances and ask questions at every turn.

That doesn’t have to end at the museum, though. There are easy ways to stoke curiosity in every aspect of your child’s life. Here are a few simple things you can do with your child to help them cultivate their curiosity:

Read, Read, Read

Read your child all kinds of books: visit the library and read books about animals, different cultures, serious books, silly books, etc. Books are a gateway into so many different worlds and will surely delight a curious mind. Encourage your child to ask questions about things they don’t understand or want to know more about.

Don’t be afraid to let your child take the lead on new subjects they’re interested in, even if the books seem a bit above their reading level. As long as they are enjoying it, letting children try to read above their level can help them gain confidence and expand their vocabulary.

Let Your Child Try Things on Their Own

This can be difficult as a parent but allowing your child to try things on their own is essential in helping cultivate their curiosity. Let them try putting on their shoes by themself or allow them to try opening a snack before jumping in to help. Challenging them to try things on their own promotes creative thinking, makes them more independent, builds their confidence and encourages them to create solutions.

Play with New Things in Different Ways

Finding miscellaneous things around the home and letting your child tinker with them is a great way to cultivate curiosity. Find age-appropriate items and allow your child to use the “loose parts” to think outside of the box and let their curiosity be their guide.

There are also a lot of benefits to letting your child safely take apart and experiment with the inner workings of old machines. This activity, combined with asking open-ended questions, can stoke curiosity as children attempt to understand how technology works.

Follow Your Child’s Lead

Find things your child enjoys and encourage those natural interests. Does your child love music? Play it for them often, read books about music, sing songs together or make a homemade musical instrument. Does your child like arts and crafts? Encourage them to create often, give them different mediums to work with and work side-by-side with them when they’re experimenting.

Don’t be afraid to take the lead on introducing your child to new hobbies, either. Lay out a new activity for them, encourage them to give them a try and see if they latch onto it! If it isn’t for them, move on to the next thing. A child learns so much more through activities that grab their attention and get their imagination going.

Ask Your Child Open-Ended Questions

Many parents can probably relate to getting those one-word “yes, no, maybe” answers. To really get your child talking and get their wheels turning, ask them open-ended questions like, “Tell me about a time when…” or “What does this make you think of?” Asking these types of questions often leads to much more meaningful conversations and helps your child to explore many possibilities.

By creating an environment in which your child can explore their interests and ideas, your child will develop critical-thinking skills, a love of learning and will forever be curious!