Curiosity Killed…Well…Nothing

Here’s a great book review by my friend, Marjie Knudsen, about a new book called “Curious?” It’s written by a local professor at George Mason University and I think it hits on some amazing ways increase how we feel about ourselves and how we can help our kids do the same.

Stay curious

Curiosity may be one of the best parenting ingredients to remember. Teaching our kids to be and stay curious can lead them, and us as parents, to great success. There is a new book by psychologist Todd Kashdan, Curious?,” that thoroughly teaches and promotes the strength of curiosity. According to Kashdan, intelligence is not everything. Students who are successful are usually the ones who start out by engaging in something interesting to them. Pressure to be the best can destroy that feeling. Kashdan writes, “Curiosity predicts better grades and achievement test scores in school, and curiosity in the classroom is a better predictor of students’ willingness to transfer knowledge learned into long-term interests and careers.”

It’s important to note that highly curious kids need good role models as much as, or even more than, their less curious peers. Kashdan writes, “An adolescent sensation seeker can be attracted to risky sports and taken under the wing of a caring coach. He might just as easily be attracted to crime and drugs and taken under the wing of a local drug dealer.”

Negativity won’t do, though, as expressed in this quote by Jane Nelson: “Where did we ever get the crazy idea that in order to make children do better, first we have to make them feel worse? Think of the last time you felt humiliated or treated unfairly. Did you feel like cooperating or doing better?” Positive and loving homes are the key, according to Kashdan. Students from these homes, according to Kashdan, “are less likely to engage in negative and illegal thrill-seeking activities… (they) can be guided toward healthy substitutes that satisfy their need for intense novel and varied experiences.” Take a look at the reviews on amazon. It’s a great read!