Parents should be encouraging their children at every opportunity
Parents should be encouraging and nuturing their child's curiosity to help stimulate innovation and solve future challenges, according to a new report.
Commisioned by British Gas Generation Green, the RSA report reveals that Britain may be in danger of losing curiosity and this may in turn affect the future.
The research found that Britons are experience-hungry, possibly at the expense of gaining depth of knowledge. It identifies a vital link between curiosity and innovation, and calls on parents and schools to champion curiosity to ensure that the next generation can maintain Britain’s reputation for innovation, having won more Nobel prizes for science and technology than anywhere else in Europe.
Kate Lemon, Programme Manager of British Gas Generation Green, said: “We will face big energy challenges over the next few decades, and we know that we need to innovate and help our customers use energy in new ways. This report shows that inspiring curiosity in young people could play a key role in addressing these challenges. That’s why we’re looking to harness the power of curiosity and inspire a new generation of young innovators.”
The RSA research also showed that modern lifestyles could put the curiosity we need to drive innovation at risk. It shows that the retired are more curious than those at work, suggesting that the daily grind could limit our power to innovate. It also found that modern technology is having an impact on our curiosity as it encourages short-term curiosity about a wide variety of topics, but doesn’t promote focus. Both types of curiosity are necessary to stimulate innovation.
In response to the findings, British Gas Generation Green and the RSA are calling on schools, parents and learners of all ages to cultivate curiosity by:
- Focusing on skills rather than knowledge
Our tip: play simple problem-solving puzzles and games like noughts and crosses, crosswords and Rubik’s cube
- Encouraging forms of mental attention, such as mindfulness.
Our tip: Put aside some time to sit quietly with your child and focus on your breathing, or take a gentle walk through the park with them, encouraging them to observe everything around them and listen to all the new sounds they can hear
- Giving children an opportunity to explore new ideas and topics in depth.
Our tip: encourage your child to take an interest in a particular topic and explore it over time: this could be through reading about it at bedtime every day, watching an informative television series or talking about an idea or question every evening over dinner. Prompt them to talk about what they think, and let them ask lots of questions of their own and draw their own conclusions.
- Allowing their children’s minds to explore and experiment with ideas.
Our tip: have fun with open-ended questions, for example you could ask your son/daughter: ‘what’s the best way to make a paper aeroplane to make it go the furthest?’. Help them think about the question in the broadest way possible by telling them there’s no right or wrong answer
Visit www.generationgreen.co.uk/curiosity to find out how curious you are and nominate your child for the ‘Why Factor’ competition
Tagged in Parenting children children's health Parenting Advice