Manage Stress With Hobbies for Kids

Hobbies As Coping Mechanism For Kids

Last month, BabyOrganix encouraged you to have some fun activities with your children to further develop their gross motor skills. For adults, we think that young kids may not need to have hobbies because well. they’re young, carefree, having fun all the time without any worry of the world. And we can be wrong.

Hobbies are not just a medium to have fun, it helps kids to discover their interest, give them self confidence but also a coping mechanism for stress too. The life of a kid today is totally different from 20 to 30 years ago. This can be said about the state of mental health too. A kid’s mental health is affected by a number of things that they observe and perceive in their environment.

Unlike adults, kids may not understand emotions like we do and often, they act out, throwing tantrums or crying to deal with issues like anxiety or stress. If we take these signs for granted, it can affect their ability to be involved in day to day activities, learning and be social among friends and family. 

That being said, having hobbies have proven to be wonderful tools for dealing with the stresses of life and can also help in maintaining a healthy mental state for all ages. 

Why Should Kids Have Hobbies?

Stress makes it harder for kids to behave and learn. So why not help your child manage stress by encouraging your kids to have a hobby. For kids, hobbies help to:

• increase confidence and self-esteem
• improve brain cognitive skills
• develop physical strength 
• train self discipline
• reduce stress and anxiety
• develop gross and fine motor skills
• explore their potential and creativity

Introducing Hobbies For Little Kids

For starters, kids always say what they have in mind. Often they want this or that toy, desire to have a pet and so on. Even if you have the financial capability to provide these things, they aren’t always in your kid’s best interest. Kids need time to adapt into new activities, and we have some hobbies that you can introduce to them.

1. Arts
   Drawing, crafting, painting and colouring are fun activities. Arts allow kids to learn more about colours, unleash their creativity and also a beautiful stress relieving tool. Not to mention, these activities help to develop their fine motor skills tremendously.
   
2. Dance
   Kids have a lot of energy. Dancing is fun for most children and it helps them to express their emotions via physical movements. Dancing requires a lot of practice, so it does help them to have self discipline and focus to be a better dancer.
   
3. Gardening
   Before getting them a pet that they always wanted, teach them gardening. A houseplant can teach them to have a responsibility early on. It’s a safe way for them to experience having a living thing to rely on them for survival.