![]() ![]() “People get kind of highfalutin about gossip,” says Engel. Gossip, it turns out, is a natural expression of curiosity in both kids and adults (which is why you go straight for US magazine at the hairdresser). Some of this drop-off is unavoidable because kids at school don’t have the opportunity to ask questions endlessly as they might at home, but it’s not inevitable if the school environment tolerates a curious child. Another reason to look for what Engel calls the “curious classroom”? In a 1984 study, developmental psychologists Barbara Tizard and Martin Hughes found that while kindergarten-age children asked 27 questions per hour at home, that number plummeted to only about three when they were at school. Engel advises seeking out schools that have lots of “ambiguous” materials at hand, including books, images, objects, and tools that spark inquiry. In studying what inspires creativity in classrooms, Engel found that children were most interested “in the rooms that had wild and complex things that didn’t act in predictable ways,” be it out-there art on the walls, terrariums housing all manner of creatures, and spaces throughout the school that invite experimentation. “What attracts people’s interest, including children, is something more complex and unpredictable,” says Engel. One would think that a neat and tidy classroom (or bedroom) is preferable to the one that invites measured chaos. Choosing a school for orderliness and calm.The slime-makers of today might be the scientists, engineers, inventors, and artists of the future. What’s a harried parent to do? “Let them make messes!” advises Engel. For parents who are new to slime-making, the white substance is probably corn starch, and it’s really, really hard to clean up! The Day-Glo fingerprints are from food coloring, also a bear to remove. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: this crime scene is none other than curiosity channeled into the best form of creativity. There’s unidentifiable white powder all over the counters and floors, bright blue and orange fingerprints on the cabinet counters, and jars and vials overflowing with weird goo. OMG! What happened to your kitchen? It’s been transformed into an 8-year-old’s version of a scene from Breaking Bad. Curious to find out how grown-ups discourage curiosity (and conversely, how they can foster it)? Here are nine sure-fire curiosity killers and how you can avoid them. ![]() While no parent or teacher would purposely set out to thwart a child’s natural inquisitiveness, they often do so unwittingly. In fact, she points out, research shows that “kids whose intrinsic curiosity is comparatively low are the ones most sensitive to social cues that inhibit or encourage exploration.” Just as curiosity can be successfully fostered in any child, says Engel, it can also be squelched, often by the very well-meaning adults tasked with educating them. “It’s shaped by experiences with parents, teachers, peers, and the learning environment.” “What begins as a robust trait becomes more fragile over time,” says Susan Engel, a professor of psychology at Williams College and author of The Hungry Mind: The Origins of Curiosity in Childhood. But as kids get older, this insatiable desire to know can lose some of its urgency. One study found that between the ages of 2 and 5, kids ask about 40,000 questions. ![]() In younger kids, information-seeking abounds. It’s fueled by dopamine, the same reward-seeking neurochemical that’s behind the desire to eat and procreate. Whether it’s your toddler furiously exploring every inch of their new world, your 5-year-old asking “Why?” about everything, or your tween becoming myopically obsessed with the goings-ons of their peers, curiosity is an inherently human trait. They’re more likely to be open-minded, emotionally expressive, have strong coping mechanisms in daunting situations, and they’re predisposed to unconventional thinking (think: innovative problem solving). Studies show that kids who exhibit a higher level of curiosity are at an advantage at school and beyond, benefitting socially, emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually.Ĭurious souls tend exhibit a wide range of positive adaptive behaviors. You want your child to be curious, right? Of course you do! After all, curiosity is the drive to gather new information and experiences and it’s at the very heart of learning. ![]()
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