For those of you who have read my article on "Inculcating reading habits in your child", this article could be a continuation from that since the foundation stone for good writing skills is exposure to quality reading material. For others; well just read on to find out why is writing fun and how can we make it appear so for our young ones.
Writing is often labeled to be a monotonous & mundane activity that seems to be the last thing which anybody in the world would do for the sake of fun. Do you feel this way? If your answer to this question is a Yes then Congrats, you may belong to a large group of people who will not pick a pen to save their lives. But you will also agree, that there is a huge group of people out there who are writing day in & day out to produce all those lovely pieces of reading material that you and I read to relax, to gather knowledge, etc. Since time immemorial people have been putting pen to paper to document all that which has ever happened around us. The point I am trying to make is that writing is a crucial part of our existence and it can be fun too.
In this age we as parents are constantly pestering our young ones to write. Write what? Homework... Homework.. & more Homework. If they don't want to write we nag them till they finish their work and then the responsibility is over. But have we as parents ever encouraged our children to write something other than what their studies mandate. Have you ever told your child that writing could be fun, that they can make a career out of writing? Your child can grow up to be a writer for magazines, school books, newspapers, a novelist & on the more glamorous side, a script writer for plays & movies to name a few from the wide range of career paths associated with writing.
Young minds are full of imagination, wonder and curiosity. Writing can be an amazing outlet for kids – allowing them full reign to express their personality and creativity. So let's see what we can do at home to make writing fun for our kids.
1. To start with, expose your child to quality reading material because it forms the backdrop of good writing skills.
2. Talk about your writing. It would be wrong to expect our children to write if we ourselves detest writing. So for starters, even if you are not a prolific writer, discuss with your child about whatever little you write, be it a letter or an email, a blog post or other similar stuff. It's about modelling to the child a good habit that they may adopt.
3. Organise weekly or quarterly Family Writing Sessions which mandates the involvement of all your family members. Allow all participants to come up with any writing item, be it a poem, a short story, a riddle, etc. Encouragement should be provided to write about experiences as well. So, for example, if you have recently had a family outing to a movie, for a dinner or a vacation, then all family members can write about their experiences about the same. Each member shall read out their piece and others can provide a feedback about the same. Regular sessions like these are likely to implant and increase the habit of writing and at the same time may increase family bonding.
4. Encourage your child to develop the habit of Diary Writing. Apart from doing the obvious role of making writing a regular habit it will also help your child to unwind by writing down all those feelings and thoughts which they are not comfortable sharing with anyone. Needless to say, a diary is one of the most personal items and the privacy of your child should be maintained. If they want to share something, they will, so give them that space.
5. Set rewards and shower praises when you come across something written by your child which is good. Share your feedback about the same and try not to be overly critical.
6. Let your child know that every profession requires writing be it that of doctor, engineer, teacher. Irrespective of the amount of writing that's needed all professions do require one to write.
7. Give your child opportunity to showcase their writing. Newspapers, magazines, online sources like blogs, etc., encourage as well as require writers. So find out about these and get your child's writing published. This will put forth your child's work to the world and for all you know, your young one may grow up to be a sought after writer.
8. Finally, we all love gifts. Try to Give Gifts to your child which are Associated with Writing. So for example, items like colourful pens, cartoon character specific pencils, diaries, letter-pads, etc. can prove to be strategic gift items for promoting writing habits in your child.
Writing is an art in itself which can be developed in each one of us. So, what are you waiting for? Pick up a pen or that cool gadget of yours and get going.
(Article first published in Evescape: January 2014 as Writing Could be Fun Too)
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