Keep the Spark: A Field Guide for Growing Curious Kids

by Daniel Sherwin, Guest Blogger

Image via Freepik

There’s a moment every parent dreads - and it doesn’t involve tantrums or puberty. It’s the day your child stops asking questions. One week they’re peppering you with “why” every six minutes; the next, they shrug off curiosity like an old jacket. You can’t quite pinpoint when it changes, but you feel it. That wide-eyed hunger for learning starts to fade, replaced by eye-rolls and a sudden allergy to anything that smells like school. But here’s the good news: that light never fully goes out. You just have to learn how to feed it differently.

Let Go of the Outcome, Feed the Process 

You don’t need to be a tiger mom or a Montessori dad to raise a curious kid. In fact, one of the fastest ways to kill a love of learning is to make it all about results - grades, awards, resume boosters. Children feel this pressure, even if you never say a word. Instead of fixating on their achievements, ask them what surprised them, what challenged them, what made them laugh. Normalize failure by talking about what you’ve bombed recently and what it taught you. Curiosity blooms in low-stakes environments, not high-pressure zones.

Make Boredom Your Co-Parent 

The best creativity comes out of being a little bit bored. You don’t need to schedule every second or have an “enrichment” activity lined up after every meal. Let your kid get bored. Really. Let them wander around the backyard talking to ants, or spend an hour trying to balance a shoe on their forehead. When there’s white space in their day, their brain kicks into gear. Learning doesn’t only happen with flashcards. It happens when they figure out how to solve a problem with duct tape and hope.

Let Them See You Learn (and Struggle) 

You are your kid’s favorite reality show. If they never see you wrestle with new ideas, they’ll think adults just know things magically - or worse, that learning is only for kids. Try a new recipe and screw it up. Watch a documentary and pause it every few minutes to rant or reflect. Pick up a language app and fumble through it while they watch you laugh at yourself. Learning doesn’t need to be performative, but it should be visible. Show them what it looks like to stay curious even when life is chaotic.

Model Lifelong Learning with Action, Not Words

Sometimes the most powerful way to teach your child to value learning is to become a student yourself. When you go back to school - whether it's to finish what you started or to explore a new field - you show them that growth doesn’t end with a diploma. Online degree programs make it easier than ever to juggle work, family duties, and coursework without turning your life upside down. If you’re curious about the inner workings of the mind and want to help others heal or thrive, earning a degree in psychology allows you to study the cognitive and emotional forces that shape human behavior (take a look).

Get Out of the House and Into the World 

Some of the most potent lessons your child will learn won’t happen in your living room. Museums, nature hikes, city bus rides, flea markets - all of it counts. They’ll learn how to talk to strangers, how to find beauty in unexpected places, how to ask questions that Google can’t answer. You don’t need a big budget. You need intention. Ask them to sketch something they saw at the farmers market. Let them map the route for your walk. Every outing becomes an adventure when curiosity is the compass.

Celebrate Weird Interests Without a Time Limit 

So your kid is obsessed with whales, or volcanoes, or how toilets work. Great. Lean in. Buy the books. Watch the YouTube rabbit holes together. Don’t rush them to the next thing just because it’s what the curriculum says. Deep dives are where passion lives. When you honor their strange fascinations, you teach them that curiosity is worth following - even when it’s not trending. Sometimes the weird obsession turns into a career. Sometimes it just becomes a great dinner party story. Either way, it matters.

Create Space for Questions With No Answers 

Not every question your child asks will have a tidy solution. Why do people hate? Why do we dream? What happens after we die? These aren’t quizzes; they’re invitations. Instead of brushing them off or launching into a lecture, meet them with wonder. “What do you think?” is a powerful reply. So is “I don’t know, but let’s explore that.” These conversations won’t land you a spot on the honor roll, but they do something better - they signal that learning isn’t just about facts. It’s about feeling your way through the world.

Unplug the Clock and Slow the Hell Down 

We live in a world that worships speed—faster internet, faster delivery, faster everything. But learning is slow. Real learning is molasses. It’s wandering, inefficient, often invisible. You can’t rush it. So don’t. Give your kid time to tinker, to revisit, to circle back. Let them reread the same book fifteen times. Let them take a week to write one paragraph if they’re into it. When you prioritize depth over speed, you teach them that mastery takes time - and that it's okay to love the journey more than the finish line.

Raising a lifelong learner isn’t about pushing your child harder or faster - it’s about protecting that flicker of curiosity from the winds of burnout and performance. It's about showing them that learning is a way of living, not a race to the top. You don’t need the perfect curriculum or the flashiest tools. What you need is presence, patience, and a willingness to grow right alongside them. Because the truth is, the best teachers aren’t the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones still asking better questions.

Discover how Walter McKenzie is transforming education by building vibrant communities and fostering innovation. Visit The Worthy Educator to learn more about his impactful work and join a network of dedicated difference-makers.

Daniel Sherwin is a single dad raising two children – a 9 year old daughter and 6 year old son. He created DadSolo.com, aiming to provide other single dads with information and resources to help them better equip themselves on the journey that is parenthood.

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