General knowledge is important for your child. It gives him the necessary head start in school and encourages the learning habit. Needless to say, it definitely aids him in his overall development.
I realized that some of the benefits of general knowledge include
o Improving analytical and investigative skills
o Encouraging a sense of curiosity, exploration and comparison
o Better communications with people
o Inculcating a sense of creativity and resourcefulness
Some of the methods which my parents did for me to acquire more general knowledge include
o Reading – all types of reading (fiction and non-fiction) helps in language articulation and communication.
o Speaking – Reading is the theoretical aspect whilst speaking is liken to be the practical portion. Both comes hand in hand, a child must speak as much as he reads!
o Excursions – I was exposed to various places and learning topics. In other words, my childhood is not being confined to the classroom and home.
o Frequent communications – I remembered my parents always make an effort to talk to me, to know how I am doing and to understand any problems I would face. This is crucial as the child may have some misconceptions and the parents can step in to guide him
o Asking questions – refraining from asking questions is perhaps the norm in Asian societies, asking questions means the child satisfy his curiosity and at the same time, allow us to understand what is the child thinking
In conclusion, it takes two hands to clap. A child is our hope and our future, he has a lot of potential inside him and he requires his parents to help him unleash it. The process is long and winding and is never easy. However, the rewards and satisfaction obtained are priceless. So let’s do our part to help our child in the best possible ways!
