Working to develop your child’s interest in writing competencies is challenging but essential. Every child is inherently unique in what they enjoy and aspires toward. According to published data, 34.5% of children and young adults write because they enjoy doing it.
How to Arouse a Child’s Interest in Writing
However, this is a small percentage in the grand scheme of things, and teachers and parents alike need to find ways to encourage children to learn and write by themselves. What are the benefits of arousing a child’s interest in learning and writing?
- Improved communication skills
- Higher confidence and self-expression capabilities
- Development of creativity and imagination
- Finding entertainment without digital devices
- Expanded vocabulary and writing skills overall
- More informed higher-education decision-making
Whether you are an education professional or a parent looking for ways to help your child grow, here’s how you can arouse their interest in learning and writing without being pushy or demanding.
Writing Prompts
Writing prompts are an excellent ice-breaker for helping your child develop their creative writing skills. You can create a small list of writing prompts or beginnings of sentences and let your child fill in the blanks. You can instruct the child to finish the said sentence and follow it with several more, or even a short essay.
Based on the prompt, this will allow them to keep writing and “follow the story” of whatever they came up with. Validate and acknowledge their efforts by reviewing the story together and taking note of their grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.
Pairing Writing and Painting
You can expand your child’s understanding of “writing” with visual media. Painting, drawing, and other forms of visual creativity can be a fantastic addition to creative exercises. You can instruct your child to paint something they like, be it a landscape or an animal, and then write a story.
Or, you can have them write stories or essays about famous works of art which they like personally. The point of the exercise is for the child to enjoy pursuing their creative passions, whether in visual media or through writing, so let them take whichever path they gravitate toward.
A Letter to your Future Self
This is a simple yet effective creative exercise that you can do with children of any age. All you need is to instruct your child or student to write a letter to themselves ten years down the line. This will challenge the child’s perception of themselves and help them brainstorm on “what could be.”
Journaling
Journaling is something of a long-form creative exercise for your child or student. You can ask your child to journal about their day, school lessons, or what they do for fun. The point is for the child to express their experiences and opinions in writing to practice their self-expression and writing skills.
You can get them a lovely journal based on a character or a franchise they enjoy to encourage them. Make it clear to them that you won’t go through their journal without their explicit say-so to earn some trust from them. Journaling shouldn’t be seen as a chore or a “must,” but rather as a fun pastime that will give your child something engaging to do for a few minutes each day.
Nurturing a Child’s Interest in Writing and Learning
There are long-term benefits to helping develop your child’s interest in writing and learning competencies early. These will help a child choose a college down the line with a much better insight and understanding of what they like or dislike. Moreover, they’re more likely to become early achievers during K-12 education, which will allow them to gain more confidence in their abilities.
Whether your child has ADHD, dyslexia, or any other condition which can prove challenging during formal education, working with them in your spare time is essential. By encouraging them to learn and write in healthy, supportive ways, they’ll grow to accept their strengths and weaknesses and work around them. Nurture your child’s, or your students’, passion for learning in any way you can – they’ll appreciate the effort you put into helping them.