When you think about trying to teach kids to be an individual, it is a hard concept to wrap your head around.
Behavior
Tips for Teaching Children Individuality
When you think about trying to teach kids to be an individual, it is a hard concept to wrap your head around.
No one can show another person how to be authentically individual because that flies in the face of the meaning of individuality.
Education resources
Tips for teaching children individuality
So how can we impart the idea of the individual to a kid who will likely push hard to follow the crowd? Here are some tips to help foster individuality in kids.
Let them try lots of new things
Kids are like sponges: they want to soak up knowledge quickly when they are young and try many new experiences. When they are a little older, they naturally gravitate toward a few of these activities and settle on a couple of their favorites. Allow kids to try a host of different activities so that they can find their passion:
- Cooking
- Sports
- Chess
- Dancing
- Art
- Martial arts
- Music
All these activities will help kids grow, but the most important thing to remember is to encourage the ones they want to do.
Go to events with them
Does your kid like to swim? It would make sense to take them to the pool often so that they can practice swimming. But what if your kid likes medieval history? Find out about events close by to you that fit in with your child’s passions, like renaissance fairs and castle tours to share in their passion.
Encourage them in their individuality
Kids can be swayed into following the crowd if they have not built up a strong enough passion or lack the self-confidence to go against the current. Make sure they know how awesome they are and their chosen passion. Be loud and proud, so your kid sees that their passions are awesome.
