How to Encourage Natural Curiosity?
Children are always seeking to learn, to know, and to understand. Encourage
this natural curiosity. It is easy to misunderstand a child's questioning. When a
child asks, "Mommy, how did I come here?" a mother may blush and say, "Ask
Daddy." When she asks her father, he may say, "You're too young to know
about these things. When you start school, ask your teacher." Later, if she
asks the teacher, the teacher may say, "Your parents will discuss the facts of
life with you when you're old enough. Better get busy with your math and
reading."
In this case, the parents may think that the child is asking about sex, but what
she really wants to know is how she came to be born on this Earth. She may
be seeking answers to very large questions. If you respond to this curiosity,
you can help your child develop insight, a rich imagination, and a large view of
life. Try to use simple, clear, and poetic language when explaining things to
children. The simpler and clearer, the better.
"How" and "why" are two things that children always want to know. However,
these questions are usually not answered in school. If, for example, a child
questions why one and one equals two, she would probably be thought
strange. Or if a child were to ask a science teacher, "Why does gravity exist?"
the teacher would probably answer, "Simply because it does."
Children are required to memorize a great deal of information in school, but
are rarely encouraged to ask "how" or "why "Since these questions are
usually ignored, the natural curiosity that children possess is usually
extinguished by the time they finish school. As a result, adults often do not
know the answers to the most fundamental questions of life or how to solve
such basic problems as what to eat to keep their health.
When children come to us with questions, we should encourage them to think
and discover solutions for themselves. We should us~ our under¬standing of
the order of the universe and nature to point our children in a direction.
Parents can judge their own understanding by the way that children react to
their explanations. If our expression is dry and conceptual, children will let us
know by rapidly losing interest. If our expression is clear and dynamic, children
will become attentive listeners.