We've discussed in the past how hobbies can benefit you in your everyday life. Apart from having something fun to do during your free time, having a hobby will also reduce stress and improve your overall happiness. If you have kids, no matter what age they are, as a parent you should try pushing them to find interests and hobbies they will enjoy for years to come.

This can be easier said than done sometimes, and trying to direct them towards a hobby without forcing them can be tricky if you don’t know the secrets. Well, we have you covered! Let’s take a look at some helpful hints we’ve seen from parents around the world that might help your kids find the hobby they love!

Think About Their Skills

You know your kids better than anyone else does so only you can determine their natural skills and talents. As you've watched them grow, what talents or skills do they naturally have that could translate into a productive and sustainable hobby? Are your kids athletic or do they like to stay inside? Are they detail oriented or do they let their minds wander, exploding with creativity?

Write down a few of the skills or talents you’ve observed over the years and keep them in mind for the next steps.

Brainstorm

With these talents or skills in mind, try and think of hobbies that might effectively leverage their natural abilities. For instance, if your kid is detail oriented, maybe model building could be their favorite hobby since they will have to follow a set series of steps to create something. If they’re more free expressionists, painting could be their favorite hobby.

The possibilities are endless, and we highly recommend that you search online to find different hobbies related to different skills instead of relying on your own ideas alone. You'd be surprised the kind of hobbies that are out there these days!

Start with Two Hobbies

Now we come to the approach. It's important that you aren't shoving your child into a hobby but instead suggesting a few that you think they might enjoy. You don't want to overwhelm them from the start with a long list of hobbies and activities because they will have a hard time choosing. Instead, pick one or two you think they might be interested in. Tell them how their natural abilities will be a great fit and that they might really like it. If the hobbies require supplies like model building, buy a model kit for them and plan out a weekend that you help build it with them.

If They Don’t Take, Don’t Give Up

When kids are young, they often are interested in a variety of different things throughout the years. If they like one of your ideas but drop it after only a month don't be discouraged; keep thinking of new hobbies that they would be interested and try and nudge them in the right direction.