Obsessions Dying Off?

Sometimes parents say "it will wear off" or "it will run its course" or "he'll get enough eventually," about interests that might lead to a lifelong study. Here are some thoughts about that.

Kim H wrote:

My son has interests that he's had since he was 3 or 4 (he's now almost 9). His biggest one is marine life. It started with sharks (they are still one of his favourite things in life) and then grew and grew to an interest in all sea life. He is at his most content when his face is down looking into a rockpool, bucket and net close by, searching for sea creatures. He just loves it. He talks about wanting to be a marine biologist and also owning a salt water aquarium when he's older. Other interests have come and gone. Others still are put on the shelf for awhile and then brought back when his interest is renewed by seeing it somewhere else (TV, shops etc) or talking about it with someone. I know this is what many unschoolers find in their children and themselves.

I feel like my son's interests have the potential to be life long because he has the freedom to go with them or drop them like a hot potato which ever he chooses to do. When our kids get the freedom to have unlimited stimulation/exposure to an interest they can take it to a level that others, unfortunately can't due to time restrictions and schedules. Whether they take their interests right through life or not doesn't really matter though of course, my point is that they can if they want to and noone's going to be pushing them to try something else or balance themselves with other things or whatever it is many parents seem to feel they need to do to 'make' their kids be the people they want them to become.

The other thing I feel is that when we stop looking at our kids and what they do through schooly glasses, we're no longer concerned about how long they've been interested in something, or how much time they've spent doing something but rather we're in there with them, their passion leaking onto us and giving us abit of that passion too. It just becomes life and living not some thing they're doing because it's good for them or because they'll need it when they're an adult or whatever other reason school says kids should do things.

I love this about unschooling - the boxing in of learning gradually dissapates to nothingness and life is just what it is, free of subjects and rigid boxes of controlled learning. Interests can be seen as school subjects - something we do when we've got the time to do them or when someones else says we've got time because we've done all the other really important things we had to do during the day.Or, for unschoolers, interests become part of the fabric of each day, blending in and out, weaving their magic throughout our day as equal to living us as breathing and eating are. No need then to think about the 'role interests play' or where might our kids take the interests or when will they have enough of this and move onto something else. This kind of thinking doesn't enter the equation anymore.

Kim H
on Always Learning, October 2008

Focus, Hobbies, Obsessions

Your Own Model of the Universe
Each little experience, every idea, is helping your child build his internal model of the universe.