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5 tips to teach kids about ‘originality’ & ‘authenticity’
The latest Zooboo story book ‘Finds a story’ is all about a little child trying to write a story for their school project. The child asks around at home, neighborhood as well as looks to the TV for inspiration for their story. The plot and ending of this book led us thinking about a few issues such as ‘original thinking’ and ‘authenticity’. How many times do we come across children who are more than willing to mimic ideas from the internet/society? Are we also guilty of consciously or unconsciously guiding kids to follow a pre-planned path with no creativity of their own? Research has shown that when parents focus on ‘teaching values’ v/s ‘rules’ and encourage kids to take ‘sensible risks’ that will allow them to try new things – such children grow up to be great contributors in the society. Here are 5 simple things that YOU can do to try and inculcate the importance of original thinking, creativity, and authenticity in your young ones: Tip #1 Encourage them to always read & remember the name of the author & the illustrator This is something you can start even when kids are a few months old. Always make it a habit to read the name of the author & illustrator of the book before you begin reading it. This allows kids to understand that there is someone who has taken the effort to write and illustrate this book for them. That not all books are the same and there is a person is who thinking original ideas & is creatively presenting it for them. Tip #2 Seek books with a moral Along with picture books, try to also read out stories that have some moral attached to it. Doing this from an early age encourages kids to think about the values and consequences of their actions. Tip #3 Encourage creativity in all forms It is upto us what rules and conditioning we raise our kids with. Instead of giving them the rules of society, life and your personal set of rules, teach them the values behind it. Let them know what your family believes it and the reason behind it. For example if you want them to clean their room, rather than saying ‘Clean your room’, say ‘This is why we as a family believe in a clean and neat environment. And this is why it’s a core value to keep our belongings neat.’ Tip #4 Guide with relativity rather than absolutes If your child is drawing or painting an image of the sky, let them pick out the colours rather than giving it to them. And now if they happen to paint it pink & purple, will you tell them – The sky is blue, not pink. OR will you tell them – The sky can be blue, sometimes it can also be orange and at twilight, it can even be pink or purple! Rather than saying ‘This is a stone’, say ‘This could be a stone, or it could be Y, or it could be Z, what do you think it is?’. This allows them to let their mind run free and fosters creative thinking. It helps ‘out of the box’ ideas. Tip #5 Model ‘authenticity’ yourself If you want to raise an honest citizen who is true to their self and stands against borrowed ideas and pirated/copied work then YOU need to model this behaviour too. Show them the importance of being original by being original yourself. Don’t download that song from the internet/unofficial source. Don’t buy a book unless its author is getting their due credit. Don’t quote an idea or phrase without mentioning the source you got it from. There are small ways that kids are observing us & what we say, do & talk makes an impact. If you want your kids to be inspired to write their own story or do some original thinking then try this NEW personalized storybook by Zooboo called ‘Finds a story’. Personalize it with your kids name & character & enjoy Rs. 300 off. Use code STORY
3 steps to inspire & equip your child to dream BIG
“Sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can.” — Napoleon Hill https://zooboostory.com/book/what-will-you-be-when-you-grow-up If you think any dream is too big for your child, you are limiting their future before they have even begun to develop the wings to fly. Right now, the slate is blank and the world is their horizon. Encourage and empower your kids to have whatever goals they would like out of their life. When your child shares his/her dreams with you, you realise just how much of a responsibility you have to empower them and encourage them. No matter the age of your child, this conversation is bound to come up where they share what they want to be when they grow up. Research shows that it is important to not laugh or make light of such conversations. This can have a huge impact on children’s confidence, imagination and creativity. In the current uncertain times like these, it’s more important than ever for parents to talk to their kids about the future and help them envision their future success. Whether that means discussing career options, higher education, or what the world might look like when they’re ready to fly the nest – the key is setting bigger goals along with smaller steps to get there. Discover 3 simple steps to inspire and empower your child to dream big! https://zooboostory.com/book/what-will-you-be-when-you-grow-up #1 Start early. Right from an early age, expose your kids to different types of career men and women. This can be as simple as reading books on professions (like the new Zooboo book called ‘What will you be when you grow up?), and as detailed as taking them to career fairs. Expose them to the stories of those great men and women who have achieved their goals like: Bachendri Pal - The first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest Neil Armstrong - The first human to walk on the moon Barack Obama - First African-American President of the USA Indra Nooyi - Former CEO of PepsiCo https://zooboostory.com/book/what-will-you-be-when-you-grow-up #2 Write it down, act it out If your child shares their dreams with you, no matter how small, silly or childish they may seem to you- do not stop them. This is the first step towards their journey. Help them write it down. You can even create a game of ‘act it out’. Write down different professions – conventional as well as unconventional. Let them pick out a card and act out that profession for you to guess. #3 Equip your child with tools to succeed Encourage them to explore their strengths. Whether they enjoy sports, art, music, cooking, maths, science, reading, or writing – let them engage in whatever their interest lies in. Help them draw up a timetable and practise their hobbies. Teach them the value of resilience. And most importantly, this is the right age to coach them on the importance of hard work, perseverance and dedication. Start early by personalizing their first book full of dreams of the future! Explore 10 professions namely Astronaut, Singer, Vet, Sportsperson, Journalist, Mountaineer, Scientist, Chef, Librarian & Teacher. What will you be when you grow up? Order it here! Introduce your children to different professions Start early with simple books like Zooboo's 'What will you be when you grow up?' book Nothing is impossible if you encourage your kids dreams Order this book in your kids name here https://zooboostory.com/book/what-will-you-be-when-you-grow-up Customize it for your child at Rs. 99 today! Use code STORY
Help your child become a confident independent reader!
Parents often put in a lot of effort to research which book is right for their child at which age. And rightly so, because an age-appropriate book definitely makes the reading experience a whole lot different. But what about the TYPE of book format? Isn’t it important to gauge the readiness of your child to be an independent reader? The answer is YES it is! Picking the right book format – softcover or hardcover - and transitioning to another can be tricky for some kids. That is precisely why we at Zooboo offer a wide choice in the type of book you’d like for your child. Let us guide you on which Zooboo book format is best suited for your child! Reading WITH parents Recommended: 5.5”x5.5” HARDCOVER When your child is reading along with you, they are probably a little young. The hardbound pages help them gain the confidence to flip a book on their own. And since you’re mostly reading to/with them, the 5.5”x5.5” works perfectly fine at this stage. Starting to read with AND without parents Recommended: 8”x8” HARDCOVER You can gradually transition to the large size book as they will start to want to read parts of the book on their own so the larger font & illustrations will help here. Since you can start leaving them alone with their book, it is important to keep the book in hardcover format. Transitioning from hardcover to softcover Recommended: Upgrade to a ‘waterproof LUSTRE’ finish To make this jump as accident-free as possible, you can upgrade your softcover books to a premium waterproof paper with a lustre finish. This paper quality will provide your child with a lot of sturdiness while they flip pages on their own with or without supervision. Transition to becoming an independent reader Recommended: 8”x8” SOFTCOVER While you will always continue to read together with your child, you can gradually encourage your child to read books on their own, in their free time. At this stage, you can move to a softcover book BUT we advise a 8”x8” book size. The bigger page size enables kids to move pages freely. You can always opt for the premium lustre page finish for this size as well. Independent readers Recommended: 5.5”x5.5” SOFTCOVER Your independent young reader can now definitely graduate to a softcover book format without any hesitations! The 5.5”x5.5” size is handy, easy to carry anywhere and lightweight enough to make it the perfect travel companion. All Zooboo books have rounded edges for child safety. In general, hardcover books work well for younger kids and for those who love to carry books on-the-go. Softcover books are fine for older kids and for those looking for an inexpensive option! Zooboo recommended size for ALL kids: 8”x8” HARDCOVER. Because afterall, a book in which your child is the HERO of the story should be preserved as a keepsake forever right!? :D @vandita.momandmore
