This is truly my favorite KIDFUN tip. If you have a hobby or a special interest, share it with the kids–even young ones. It will be fun for you because it’s something you care about, and if they like it, they might come to share that interest. I don’t care what the hobby is–baseball cards, collecting shells, painting. Plus, it is such a compliment to a child to give of yourself and your time in that way. —
Here’s an example. I just love photography. And my four-year-old granddaughter, Ryan, always wants to play with my camera. At first I bought her a kids’ camera and video toy that worked for awhile. She was about two at the time. But, I realized mine was much more intriguing so I gave her one of our old digitals. It’s magical. Instant gratification to be able to see photos right away. Funny, she’ll never know what film is!
Well, this weekend, she took our her camera. We were in the car, she was sitting in her car seat and shooting away. I was so impressed. She’s 4 1/2 but she “got it.” It’s a challenge taking pictures while in motion but she really looked for things to shoot and she did great. My point is that I had so much fun watching her enjoy what I enjoy and we could really talk about it. She seems sincerely interested herself. And, that’s the best. It can always be something we do together.
Sharla Feldscher is the author of several KIDFUN Activity Books (available at amazon.com) and writes creative ideas on her blog kidfunandmore.com.
