Concerning Kids – Be as curious as a child
11-03-2023
Christian Life
Anna Gnatyshyna, CNE.news
Photo Unsplash, Scott Webb
Christian Life
I arrived at the square that was surrounded by beautiful buildings built in the Middle Ages. There was a huge breath-taking ancient cathedral. I froze in awe and delight.
However, the moment was interrupted by the loud voice of the woman who was scolding her daughter. She had tried to take a picture of a girl near the cathedral, but the little one saw a cat and quickly ran after it. The woman left the trolley, her backpack and ran to get the child.
I felt sorry for the mother but couldn't help laughing, seeing that the running cat appeared to be a gamechanger in this situation. The girl found the skinny stray cat more interesting than an ancient cathedral. Well, the child was definitely living her best life.
Curiosity
One of the wonderful things about being a child is their capacity to live in the moment. For children life is about what is in front of them. That is the most interesting to them. They often slow adults down whenever they see a cat, explore the bug by poking it, or jump in the puddle before we can even shout “Stop!”. Their curiosity is the inner driver of the desire to explore the world around them and experience it.
It is amazing that by nature they are such great learners and explore most of things before they turn 7. However, it can be challenging for adults to answer the question “Why” hundreds of times a day or endlessly slow down during the walk with the child.
And well… let’s be honest. We don’t know all answers, and sometimes we do not even want to answer questions, like “Why the sky is blue?”, “Why do planes stay in the air?”, “Where do babies come from?” In the end of the day, we might feel irritated.
Somehow, we as adults lost that curiosity. We don’t care how it is working while it is working. The cat is just a cat, but something material has a bigger value. We teach children the real values, like being on time and therefore, would pull the child to walk faster. Time and material things matter a lot to us. And it is not bad as long as we do not stop the children from exploring life.
Natural interests
When we allow children to be curious and explore, we teach them confidence and appreciation. Children feel more confident when studying the world. They develop their natural interests that might result in a future hobby or profession.
We also teach them to value experiences over things. At the same time, we can learn from them about the value of experiences also.
So let us explore the world with the children, go outside, and learn new facts about nature, living creatures, science laws. Life is far more interesting than we usually experience it to be. Marcel Proust once said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes”.
Anna lives in Kyiv and runs evangelistic Children's Club. She is a Children's Ministry Coordinator in Eurasia with the organisation OneHope. Anna studied theology, and she is a guest teacher in Kyiv Theological Seminary.
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