“Oh my gosh! There she is!” I pointed to the bushes, and a second later, my daughter gasped. “She has nine babies!” We watched as the mother turkey pecked the grass and her fluffy, tiny offspring followed along. “They’re so cute!” my daughter whispered, and I agreed. We continued our walk up the street, but the awe-inspiring sight had lifted us both!
Experiencing awe or wonder not only feels good in the moment, but it can have long-lasting positive effects on a person’s wellbeing too. In our techy world today, it’s going to benefit kids more to step away from screens and keep their eyes peeled and ears open to experience wonder and all its perks. Here are 5 ways to start inspiring wonder in your kids and how it can help them thrive in a digital world.
1. Notice what’s around you.
“I can hear the rain on the roof!” my daughter said. “It sounds like a stampede of horses!” We stopped and listened, slow smiles spreading across our faces. That’s a sense of wonder. And we when we feel it, says psychologist and author Dacher Keltner. And oftentimes, we experience wonder in nature or with others.
Finding wonder only requires a little bit of interest and curiosity. Have your kids pay attention to the little things around them like the angle of morning sunlight or their breath during a moment of quiet. Rather than filling five minutes of downtime with a phone, have your child draw, look out a window, or lie down in the grass.
2. Have unstructured play, preferably outside.
The other day, I spotted a small, towheaded girl kneeling on the sidewalk. She had her head down, digging in some dirt. A quick scan of her yard told me no adult hovered nearby. But the girl didn’t seem to care. She looked happy to be outside, doing her thing. Wonder is a feeling, like gratitude, for what you’re enjoying and doing in the moment. And watching her actively engaging in play, made me experience wonder as I passed her.
To find wonder, practice living in the moment, not looking to the past or toward the future. It’s engaging with the sights, sounds, smells, and textures around you. And, typically, it makes you feel good.
3. Get up and move.
In elementary school, my kids liked to play on the playground after the final bell. But as they’ve gotten older, plopping down in front of a screen has become their go-to way to relax. But no matter what age, movement is still important for kids’ wellbeing—and for experiencing wonder. “[S]pending too much time on digital devices day after day has the potential to rob someone of his or her sense of wonder and awe,” says writer and athlete Christopher Bergland.
To find and experience wonder, kids need to get up and move, bond with others face-to-face, and explore different environments. Dr. Keltner says awe, or wonder, has a huge impact on our health and well-being and “seems to quiet any negative self-talk.” That’s definitely helpful to know if your child leans toward perfectionism or a fear of failure.
4. Look for the goodness in others.
My daughter dropped her library card on the way out the door and a little boy picked it up and chased her down. We both left the building smiling. Seeing someone do an act of kindness helped us experience what journalist Hope Reese calls the “moral beauty of others.” Have your child observe her bus driver or a grocery clerk whose job is to help others. If we notice others who are trying to be good neighbors, we can strengthen our kids’ sense of wonder—and our own.
You can teach your kids to find wonder. They just need to keep their eyes and ears open. “When we see others doing small gestures…we start feeling better and are also more likely to perform good deeds,” says Reese.
5. Spot beauty in your surroundings.
My kids are drawn to their devices whenever they want an easy distraction. But as Dr. Keltner says, distraction is an enemy of awe, or wonder. When we’re paying attention to what’s around us, often in the natural world, we can be wowed by some seemingly simple things: the silence of falling snow, an ant procession, the breaking of waves.
Wonder can be the de-stressor your kids need. When you experience awe or wonder, your body releases the “love hormone,” oxytocin, writes Reese. And you start to feel more at ease and less stressed. In our tech-centered world, with pressure on kids to succeed, finding wonder can help them gain balance and peace.
How can you make finding wonder a daily activity for your kids?
