4 Proven Tips to Get Your Kids to Try New Things

People are creatures of habit, and kids are no different.

After all, change can be scary. As humans, everything we do is so avoid pain or feel pleasure. Since fear is painful, we tend to avoid it.

But change doesn’t have to be painful! Here are 4 tips to get your kids to embrace change and try new things, get creating, and experimenting.

Take it in baby steps.

Often times, when trying something new, the easiest way is to cut it into small chunks.

For example, if you want your child to try karate, why not start by watching a karate movie? Seeing examples around us and in real life can help promote trying new activities.

Then, have them learn about the topic by reading online or talking to other kids.

Finally, sit with them through a karate class. Talk to the instructors with your child and try to get them excited.

By now, if they aren’t ready to take karate, they may never be! But at least they tried.

Kids Robotics

Turn it into a game.

What makes stressful situations more fun?

Playing a game, of course!

Set up rules for the game. If they’re trying swimming for the first time, throw down a challenge to see how long they can stay in the water. Give them points every time they do a stroke the correct way.

Rehearse the event.

If you’re getting your child ready to try something new, one great way to ease them into the idea is to have every dress up and rehearse the event to get them used to it.

If you’re going to a wedding, for example, dress them (and yourself!) in the outfits you’ll be wearing at the wedding, and act as if you’re there.

This is a similar mindset we have at MakerKids. Kids create, prototype and through an iterative process, improve on their projects, try new things and explore more options.

Let them take control.

Giving your child control over what to eat for dinner, what movie to see, or what new things to try will make them much more likely to get over their apprehension.

Sit down with your child and help them set a goal to try one new thing every week.

Discuss with your child the pros and cons of new experiences.

Pros:

Broadening one’s perspective
Finding a better way
Learning new things

Cons:

Fear
Discomfort

By putting all the facts on the table, they’ll have an easier time understanding why they might want to try something new and how they can get over their fear.

Plus, they’ll become more confident.

The projects we have in class are all student-led and created! We encourage them to create what they would like. At the beginning of class, we ask each student what invention would they like to make.

Conclusion

Getting your kids to try new things is great for them. They’ll learn more about themselves and their world, and learn to get outside their comfort zone and grow. They’ll discover what they like, don’t like, what they are good at and what needs improvement.

What have you tried with your kids to help them get over their fear of new things? Let us know in the comments below!

Remember it is okay to to fail!