If you want your kids to develop skilful Hobbies, you must read this article on ‘hobbies for kids’ right till the end. Though these hobbies are put up in the order of age, most of the hobbies can be suitable for all ages. In fact, everyone should have some hobbies to stay engaged during their leisure time. Ideally, each one of us should have three hobbies, one which makes us creative, one to keep us fit and one to make money for our survivalWhile there is no specific age to pick up a hobby, this is an age-wise list of hobbies for kids so that you won’t get lost in the sea of endless ideas of hobbies for kids.

Happy is the man who is living by his hobby – George Bernard Shaw

Age-wise List of Hobbies for Kids

Hobbies for  kids: 3 to 6-year-old

1. Drawing & Coloring:

This is one of the all-time popular hobbies for kids as well as adults. Kids like to draw and colour. We can give them crayons and paper to scribble on and tickle their creativity and imagination. They can also dip their fingers in colours or thread and make designs on paper. While there are different forms of art and colouring techniques, you may choose the suitable ones to teach your kids according to their age.

Read- Importance of Art in Child Development

2. Clay/ Playdough Modelling:

Kids also like to play with clay, they can be given moulds to make some shapes out of it, they can then decorate those small artefacts they have made with stickers or sequins or paint. Non-toxic Playdough could be a great buy for toddlers and preschoolers as it not only enhances their creativity but also helps to strengthen their pincer grasp and muscles. They can start by making fruits and vegetables and then move on to complex shapes.

3. Gymnastics:

Preschoolers could also start with some exercises and gymnastics considering the fact that their body is very flexible and high on stamina/energy. Simple Yoga moves, Ballet dance etc can be fun ways to engage in gymnastics. This could give them the required physical exercise and foster awareness about fitness.

4. Lego:

Doing Lego’s is a celebrated hobby many kids follow. There are Lego competitions for kids too. Also, kids love to play with blocks/tumblers and arrange them in the stack.

5. Building Sand Castles

Sand art is a popular hobby nurtured by kids. Various forms of sand art are now trending, however at this age, building simple sandcastles could be fun for kids and would bring forth their creativity.

Hobbies for kids:7 to 12 years

6. Reading

Parents who encourage their children to read set the foundation for their success. Reading has amazing benefits which are known to one and all. Reading can take you around the world without even moving out of the house. Reading creates awareness, reduces street, promotes cognitive function, widens our perspective and much more. It can be one of the best hobbies for kids and can be started at a very young age.

Read – Reading Aloud to Kids- 7 Powerful Benefits

7. Nature walking

Nature walking improves memory helps reduce anxiety and improve athletic performance. It also promotes fitness and most of all make you happy. Find a nature trail near your house or head off for trekking, hiking, camping etc on weekends. It will benefit you as well as your child.

8. Playing Musical Instruments

Given the bounty of online hobby classes and YouTube, musical instruments can be played at all ages. However, it is better to take professional guidance and give certifying examinations to seriously pursue the hobby of playing musical instruments. It has a soothing effect on the mind and also develops the spatial reasoning and math skills in kids.

Read – 7 Powerful Benefits of Music Education For Kids

9. Art & Craft:

School going children have art & craft as their subject. They learn a lot of art, crafts like origami, paper quilling, clay modelling, craft out of best of waste etc. at school. They can develop their hobby in any art and craft of their interest and start making artefacts out of them. Many exhibitions are held online to encourage art and craft hobbies for kids.

10. Collections:

Kids can start collecting stamps/coins/artefacts etc. as they travel to different places. They can also start studying or watching things related to them and making archives for future reference. This is yet another popular age-old hobby for kids. Kids may learn about different cultures, history of various places and people while collecting artefacts.

11. Outdoor and Indoor Sports:

Children can pick up a hobby of playing any outdoor sports like cricket, football, badminton or indoor sports like table tennis, carrom, chess etc. They can be given classes which are instructor lead to give them proper coachings like football, cricket or swimming. This will help them to be physically fit and strengthen the body as well as focus on their interest in sports.

12. Gardening

Organic farming, hydroponics farming are the new ‘new’ in the world of gardening. It can be carried out on a small scale at home. With indoor gardening and terrace gardening options available these days and most of the online stores selling gardening kits for the home garden, gardening is an easy-to-do hobby for all ages. Children can also learn the concepts of germination, photosynthesis etc through it.

13. Gymnastics & Exercises:

At this age, kids can explore Hoola hooping, Cycling, Yoga, Karate etc. Most of the schools provide training in these areas to encourage the kids to improve on their gymnastic skills. Kids can take advantage of the training and choose an area of interest.

14. Singing:

Children can learn classical singing, opera and various other forms of singing depending on their inclination to different types of music. By now parents would observe the interest of their children in either singing/dancing. Based on their interests, they should be encouraged to perform. They can be sent for professional coaching if feasible, to make their fundamentals strong.

15.Dancing

Dance aids expression and empathy. It develops psychomotor coordination in children and can be a great stress buster too. Children can learn various dance forms like Hip-hop, Bharatnatyam, Salsa, Bollywood etc. It is easy to find a trainer online or just watch videos and learn the skill.

16.Theatre

The popularity of performing arts is on an all-time high due to the emergence of various social media channels to promote the content. These channels not only showcase the talents of artists but also helps them to earn money to sustain their training and other expenditures.

17. Coding & Programming:

Children can start learning programming language fundamentals and simple coding. They can start by making simple games and apps and can develop complex applications once they are older. Kids as young as six years of age are known to be masters in coding and top companies are taking heed of this fact and funding their future IT education. There are many course providers who teach coding and programming for a fee.

18. Learning foreign languages:

It is always a boon to know multiple languages. It opens up many career options for the future like being a teacher, translator, blogger, writer, podcaster etc. If not a career option, it can definitely help you when you travel the world or meet people of different ethnicities.

19. Rubik Cubes and Legos:

Rubik assembly and disentanglement can be a great exercise for the brain. There are many speedcubing competitions these days to encourage kids in their interest in playing the Rubik cube puzzles. Legos as said earlier can be a creative venture for kids to know the art of constructions and physics. At this age, more complex Legos can be played by kids for hobbies.

20. Baking/Cooking:

Do you know, the owner of the bakery brand Four Pastry Season’s is a 10-year-old girl Vinusha? Her LinkedIn profile shows that ambitions do not have an age bar. There are many young kids out there who are simply awesome at cooking and baking, thanks to the encouragement provided by their parents. Master Chef Junior is a great example of this.

21. Magic

Magic tricks are one of the trending hobbies for kids. It is easy to learn tricks online. There are magic shows and competitions which can help children to showcase their talent.

Hobbies for Kids-13 years and above:

22. Debates/Elocution:

People who have wonderful oratory skills are generally given a lot of opportunities by their parents to grow these skills right from childhood. If you want your kids to be stage ready and confident, give them opportunities to explore their oratory skills. Allow them to host small birthday parties of their siblings and friends, let them take part in family discussions and use words of encouragement to develop their self-esteem. These small exercises will surely develop into productive hobbies for kids. Have you seen small kids giving Ted Talks? Well, you get my point then.

23. Start a Blog:

15-year-old Umer Qureshi, the founder of guideblogging.com (blogging), is giving jitters to many other top bloggers and is earning $2000 + a month with his newfound hobby- blogging. If you ask him whether blogging is his hobby, he will say it is his passion as well as his full-time job. Sophia Lee of bysophialee.com (about college life) is earning more than $30,000/- a month. What started as a hobby, is now her full-time career! Select a niche of your interest and start a blog. You can start a free blog on the Blogger platform as a beginner.

24. Creative writing

Kids should be encouraged to start writing stories, poems, journals etc to improve their writing skills. Writing a journal about everyday happenings is a hobby for many. They can send their creative material to family and their friends and seek feedback. They can also contribute articles to newspapers and magazines.

25. Caring for pets

Grooming pets, taking them for walks, playing with them is a hobby that fosters sensitivity towards life and encourages empathy. Many people prefer talking to pets to let out their stress and feel good.

26. Start a YouTube Channel/Film making:

Children can capture small videos with interesting areas like dancing, singing, cooking, playing musical instruments etc and upload videos on YouTube which can be can be shared with friends and family. Capturing videos, editing them is an art and can help to brush up your child’s creativity. Growth in digital infrastructure is inevitable and a trend around the world. So it brings a lot of scope for fresh talents and provides a plethora of career options.

27. Embroidery, stitching and Knitting:

Many people find stitching, knitting and embroidery work satisfying and recreational. It would be a great hobby idea for kids. And yes, creative it is!

28. Photography:

A lot of kids and especially the youth find photography interesting. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat etc call for excellent photography skills.  It also makes capturing family memories easier and fun. Photography is also a lucrative career option and many celebrated photographers admit to having started their stint with photography from a young age.

29. Astronomy:

Who doesn’t like starry nights and stargazing? Kids, teenagers and even adults fall to the beauty of the night sky. Try using free apps that show the position of planets and stars realtime. They are fun to study. You can also observe the change in the position of the stars every day. This can be one of my favourite hobbies for kids. You never know, this hobby may land up your child in NASA or ISRO one day? They can use a telescope to study the pattern in detail.

30. Jewellery Making/Apparel Designing:

Jewellery can be made out of sequins, metal, clay etc. Children can take this up as a hobby can start designing jewellery or apparels. Painting  (fabric painting)on Tshirts, doing patchwork, embroidery, cutwork on old jeans and giving it a makeover are fun things to do.

Benefits of having hobbies for kids

• Helps to keep the kids engaged
• Fosters creativity
• Encourages empathy and awareness about nature, life, things.
• Develops cognitive, psychomotor, social functions in kids.
• Promotes confidence and self-esteem.
• Motivates kids to achieve goals set by them.
• Gives an opportunity to explore many creative avenues.
• Builds parent-child relationship through encouragement from parents.
• Helps to develop skills and gives insights on career options.

Points to consider: hobbies for kids

• Let the kids select the hobby which they want to pursue. Parents may just introduce concepts and opportunities to them.
• Never force a child to pursue a hobby which he/she dislikes. It can hamper their self- esteem.
• Be patient with kids. All hobbies may not turn into bright career options.
• Children tend to switch hobbies when they learn newer things. They will eventually settle on the one they like the most. So don’t worry about their experiments with hobbies.
• Your guidance and encouragement will enable your child to enjoy their hobby and learn from it.

Conclusion on hobbies for kids

Hobbies can be fun. Hobbies produce joy, conviction, self-confidence and most of all, a sense of satisfaction. Hobbies are essential for child development and can open up doors of opportunities, you might never have thought about. So embark on this exciting journey with your kids and they will thank you later.

Happy parenting!

PS. Do let us know in the comments which hobbies you liked. We would be happy to add more on our list if you have some suggestions too.

The post 30 Age-wise Hobbies for Kids To Encourage Creativity appeared first on Mommy's Magazine.