A Curious Mind is a Healthy Mind!

Curiosity they say killed the cat, but thank God we are not cats! We are humans with a need to constantly seek knowledge. Hence, I am not sure why people often discourage this trait in children.

 Curiosity is the impulse to seek new information, knowledge and experiences. It is also ones desire to explore the unknown.

On the whole, curiosity is not a bad thing. It has helped spark innovative and daring inventions in today’s modern world.  Almost every groundbreaking discovery we relish today was inspired by someone’s inquisitiveness to know.

 However, in this part of the world, most people do not encourage such traits in children.  Children who exhibit a curious mind are often shut down or tagged as talkers.

Due to these negative reactions, most children would rather not ask questions or express an opinion for fear of being punished or shushed.

I have seen people react negatively towards children when they asked questions. I had a first-hand experience during my national service  days as a Teaching Assistant. One morning, I  was asked to fill in for one of the teachers who couldn’t make it to school that morning.

I entered the class and taught the lesson for the day. After class, one of the students raised her hand and asked me to explain a concept to her. I noticed most of her peers murmured under their breath with some going as far as calling her names.

Although I was more than willing to answer her questions, her peers, on the other hand, were not pleased. They felt she was wasting time with her questions.

This is exactly how most people treat children when they ask questions.  We tell them off and make them feel asking questions is a bad thing.

We should rather encourage children to ask questions instead of rebuking such behaviour.

A child with a curious mind is an asset to their community. They could develop a thirst and hunger for knowledge for the betterment of their community.

It could also boost confidence in them to ask questions when they lack information.

Always encourage your child to ask questions for it is beneficial.