Humans are curious and intuitive. We’re constantly searching for activities to keep us occupied and entertained. Of course, I’m referring to hobbies. However, hobbies are more than just entertainment; they enrich our lives and teach us valuable life skills. That is why children need authentic hobbies they have chosen for themselves, to help develop skills they can carry with them for the remainder of their lives.
What is an authentic hobby?
Before we get into the skills children can learn from hobbies, we should define the word “authentic.” Authentic hobbies are those that help to make children happier and more interesting individuals. Furthermore, authentic hobbies also help a child develop worthwhile abilities and allow the brain to make new connections. Authentic hobbies motivate students to be more creative, engaged, and mature.
For the time being, I’ll refrain from discussing video games. Although they are a popular hobby, that’s a more complex topic worth its own article.
Learning Social Skills
The first and most valuable skill children learn from hobbies are social skills. Hobbies like sports or band teach children teamwork and how to navigate being part of a group. They’ll learn how to interact and communicate with others in good times and bad. Losing games or playing incorrect notes is frustrating, but being a part of a team or band teaches children how to handle those situations without throwing a tantrum or quitting when things get tough.
That skillset translates into the classroom or, later on, the workplace, teaching the child to remain calm when they disagree with a classmate or when they do poorly on a test. We all make mistakes; it’s how we learn. The ability to calmly respond to mistakes is a valuable life lesson that kids can learn through different kinds of social interaction, especially in collaborative group activities like sports, band, or dance.
I once had a young student who struggled at school. He was aggressive toward classmates and couldn’t focus on lessons or assignments. I noticed he had a lot of pent up energy and needed exercise.
I spoke with his parents and recommended that he play sports, and the results were noticeable. He started soccer and learned teamwork. In the classroom, he became more social and genial, and he made friends with his classmates. What’s more, he was better able to focus during class. His parents were glad they signed him up for sports. He’s still playing soccer and has branched into other sports.
Finding Your Passion
Another reason that authentic hobbies are important for children is that they allow kids to discover their own likes and dislikes, and in turn learn about themselves. Students in Taiwan don’t get many opportunities to explore activities they find interesting. Most kids are forced to do what they “have to learn” or “need to know”: classes, tutors, cram school. The few “hobbies” they are allowed to have tend to be things they’re forced into, like playing instruments their parents have chosen.
Because kids are forced into these tasks, they have no personal attachment to them and even come to resent doing them. Giving kids a little freedom to explore and choose what they find interesting goes a long way in developing genuine interest in a hobby. Knowing the difference between just going through the motions and actually feeling satisfaction doing what they enjoy is an important step in creating personality and the capacity for self-expression.
While many students of mine have gone through this experience, one in particular stands out. She was forced into too many extracurricular classes, even though she was a strong student, as well as into sports in which she had no interest.
However, she loved art and she had natural talent in it. She was a reserved student that struggled to participate. However, when I assigned group work involving art, she became an entirely different student. Her personality livened, she demonstrated leadership capacity I hadn’t seen before, and she showed strong motivation to create something special. Her passion was clear and doing art made her more outgoing.
Developing Creativity
Finally, children that have authentic hobbies are more creative. Becoming more social and developing their own likes and dislikes without feeling forced allows kids to express themselves.
If they’re playing sports and someone fouls them, they figure out quickly how to voice their displeasure. If they realize they like, or dislike, a hobby, they find ways to articulate why they have those feelings. Becoming more in touch with their feelings is a major facet of creativity, which is essential for problem solving and growth.
When kids have a few authentic hobbies, they incorporate the experiences from those hobbies into their personalities and develop problem-solving skills, unique perspectives, and confidence in their ability to think and contribute.
What Hobbies Should My Child Choose?
At Englist, we hope to teach our students to be interesting people. We hope students can grow to be expressive and creative. Authentic hobbies help kids develop the skills they need to be these things. We understand that children are busy, but they should get the opportunity to find something they are passionate about outside of a classroom. Here are a few categories of hobby we think you should let your kids explore:
Sports
Sports teach so many important skills: teamwork, how to win and how to lose, how to practice, and how to compete.
We recommend: swimming, table tennis, badminton, basketball, soccer, dance, and martial arts.
Visual arts
Visual arts allow kids to learn other important skills like an eye for detail, patience, and how to approach the creative process.
We recommend: drawing class, ceramics, photography or videography, digital illustration, video editing, or anything involving DIY crafts.
Music
Learning to play an instrument or sing can be one of the most rewarding experiences for kids as it allows them to experience the process of developing mastery and is perhaps the most obviously expressive category of hobbies.
We recommend: orchestra, band or marching band, choir, private lessons.
Academic extracurriculars
Some students are genuinely interested in more structured, academic-style activities. These hobbies allow students to develop skills like teamwork and creative problem-solving while also reinforcing skills more obviously valued in the classroom. These programs might be better suited to students at the junior high and high school level, however.
Activities we recommend include: debate, public speaking, Taipei Teen Tribune or writing classes, Lego class, coding, robotics, and academic decathlon.
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Whatever activity your child chooses, the key is to let them find their own interests without putting pressure on them. They need the chance to be their own person in order to find what they are uniquely passionate about.
They’ll thank you for it someday.
- Mr. Howell