How I wonder what you are

As a poet and grandma I find much to wonder about. But what about our children and grandchildren?

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Small children often encourage us to wonder – What are stars made of? Where does sand come from?

We probably all have many examples of such questions from the children in our lives. But at what age might children start to lose their sense of wonder?

How can we help children to hold onto their curiosity about the world? And why is this important?

We need plays, stories, movies, games, teachers, parents, uncles and aunts that encourage children to continue to wonder about the natural and man-made world.

As kids’ lives get busier, more sociable and noisier they may rarely experience silence (fertile ground for wonder) or ‘down’ time by themselves or with others.

What are the questions we can ask to further kids’ amazement and surprise about the world?

More importantly, do we hear and respond to the questions that children ask us about how something works or why something happened. Or in our busyness and distraction do we reply vaguely or dismiss the question as another annoying “Why?” question.

It’s easy as adults to lose the capacity to be amazed by all that makes up our lives or, as Richard Dawkins says, to look at the world in unfamiliar ways. Often it is children who remind us of this, who ask a left field question and ‘wake us up’ out of our habitual way of being and seeing. And if children see and hear us wondering about the world with other adults, they will be more likely to continue to do this.

Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles need to be confident in telling children stories about how the world was when they were kids.

We often think that they won’t be interested, they are so caught up in the everyday technology, speediness and complexity of their lives. But it is not only an opportunity for intimacy, but also for children to develop a historical perspective which may spark curiosity about other earlier ways of doing things or events that happened a long time ago.

History teaches us about not only the achievements of world leaders but also the dreadful mistakes humans can make; learning about inventions and scientific discoveries can keep the door open to curiosity, creativity and invention – especially if kids are hearing about it from somebody they know and love.

Wondering opens up kids’ horizons, loosens up their minds. Yet children can easily fall into the expectation that everything can be controlled, found out about and explained through their Smartphone. It’s important that they are reminded that there are still many aspects of life that are mysteries, that are impossible to explain, that we don’t understand or even have words for.

Do computer games encourage wonder? Kids’ television programs? The books that your child reads? I don’t know, but one way we can encourage wonder is to ask the children in our lives, “What is your ‘wow’ for today?”

What types of questions do your kids come up with? Please share in the comments below.

**Fiona Johnston is the co-author of the new children’s book, WOW! The Wonders of our World, now available at all good book stores.**

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

17 Comments

- - rachelvk said
  - 20 Dec 2015
    10:12 pm
I love hearing my son say WOW… watching little ones look at the world with such awe and wonder is just beautiful.
- mom94125 replied
  
  06 Jan 2016 , 6:10 pm
  oh! yes i know! wow is an amazing word and they say it with such purity.
- - mom94125 said
  - 11 Dec 2015
    11:10 pm
yes foster their love of learning and they might grow up to make a new discovery or invention.

- - ella12 said
  - 09 Dec 2015
    2:46 pm
My little one is going through the ‘what’s that, what’s that’ stage. (-:

- - rovermum said
  - 09 Dec 2015
    1:12 pm
We always tell stories of our childhood to our teen son. And with many deaths in recent years for elderly family members, it’s given us the opportunity to share stories of their lives with my son. Lucky, he is inquisitive and wants to know.

- - mom134803 said
  - 09 Dec 2015
    4:08 am
Yes kids always come with a lot of questions. My eldest 2 are now 11 and 10 year old and start to argue and discuss things a bit more, what can be nice but also a bit of a challenge sometimes, lol ! We talk about how things were when their grandparents and we ourselves grew up and how they differ from other countries.

- - robyn_smithwick said
  - 08 Dec 2015
    8:39 pm
I often wonder about these things too!

- - mom74640 said
  - 07 Dec 2015
    8:46 am
Lke vs

- - mom165081 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    8:58 pm
The more children are exposed to, the more questions they ask. I always answer question with ‘what do you think?’ Where possible, and then build their ideas into the answer.
- mom90758 replied
  
  07 Dec 2015 , 1:17 pm
  That’s a great way to go indeed. And we need to adapt the answer to the kid’s age too. Often, if young, they are fine with a very short and simple answer.
- - mom90758 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    3:13 pm
Kids are naturally curious so it’s normal they ask so many question. But yes, sometimes it’s not that easy to find the right answer. My daughter has always been interested in astronomy, asking often so many questions and finding me ignorant about the answer!! So I had to direct her to my husband that definitely has more understanding than me. 😉
Once, she was 4 or 5 years old, she started asking how the stock exchange functions!!! Really!!! 🙂

- - mom74640 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    1:59 pm
Lke jd

- - Nas01 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    1:38 pm
I always ask my little kids about things we see. I asked my 3 year old why she thinks the trees move when it’s windy abd she said ‘their dancing mommy’. It’s amazing how their minds work.

- - mom101628 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    10:32 am
Fascinating blog and really you keep on learning all your life if you keep asking why? and where? and why is it so? Keeping everyone’s interests alive is a wonderful thing to do, so thank you for a lovely Christmas gift this year.
- mom93821 replied
  
  07 Dec 2015 , 7:01 am
  Exactly – life is a lifelong Why? Fun figuring it out too! 🙂
- - mum4107 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    5:20 am
I’ve had “mummy can you make the daylight go away and make it night time”

- - mom93821 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    5:15 am
We encourage the “Why’s” and the this is a lifelong word for kids and adults. Everyone should question and ask why, it is how we learn and discover all that life has to offer.