2 ways of thinking about this - DeHart & Company

For Immediate Release For an interview with Victoria Ryan O'Toole,
please contact Dottie DeHart,
DeHart & Company Public Relations,
at (828) 325-4966 or Dottie@dehartandcompany.com. A Curious Mind Is Never Bored:
Seven Reasons Why Curiosity Is the Next Big Thing
Victoria Ryan O'Toole, creator of Molly Moccasins, explains why curiosity
is one
of the most important skills parents can teach their kids in today's world. "I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to
endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity." ~Eleanor
Roosevelt Los Angeles, CA-If you're a parent, you know that babies are born
with limitless curiosity. Just think about all of the things your little
ones touch, grab, climb on, stare at, put in their mouths, etc. But for
many kids, as they grow their curiosity is dulled. And by the time they
reach adulthood, they're merely going through the motions necessary to make
it through each day instead of actively trying to understand and shape the
world around them. Why is that?
"In a nutshell, we've stopped placing an emphasis on the importance of
curiosity," says Victoria Ryan O'Toole, creator of the Molly Moccasins
story, game, and activity book series for children
(www.mollymoccasins.com). "We all live in a culture that depends on TVs,
computers, smartphones, books, magazines, and other people to keep us
constantly occupied and entertained. Think of all the adults (and even
kids!) you know who would have absolutely no idea what to do with
themselves if you left them alone and took away their electronics."
Curiosity, says O'Toole, is the antidote to this plugged-in,
entertainment-dependent lifestyle because it encourages and allows
individuals to be intellectually self-sufficient.
"Stimulating your children's curiosity is a wonderful gift because it
enables them to continually learn, grow, and question the world they live
in," she comments. "It also helps them to develop a healthy imagination and
sense of creativity, and sets them up for a successful future."
O'Toole created her popular Molly Moccasins series, which features a
bright, imaginative, and curious girl named Molly, to inspire young readers
to find meaning, knowledge, and adventure in everyday life. As they follow
Molly on her almost 70 story adventures through backyards, museums, farms,
libraries, forests, and (much!) more, kids will learn to ask new questions,
observe new things, and develop an increased curiosity about the world
around them.
Here, O'Toole shares seven compelling reasons why curiosity is such a
valuable skill for kids to develop. It's a high complement to the hard skill set. In today's hyper-competitive
academic environment, parents tend to be zoom-focused on their kids' "hard"
skill sets: reading, writing, 'rithmetic, etc. What they often don't
realize is that "soft" skills like curiosity and creativity are what give
academic knowledge its power and usefulness in the real world. The truth
is, curiosity and creativity are some of the most valuable skills young
people can have as they prepare to enter the global economy. As
professionals, they'll have to innovate on the go, think of better ways to
solve old problems, create time- and money-saving solutions, and much more. "When a child is constantly asking questions and displaying curiosity about
the world around her, she's already well on her way to creating solutions,"
asserts O'Toole. "I recently attended an edu-event where this point was
made in an unexpected way. A speaker broke down the process that engineers
use to design and build amazing things: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Design, and
Create. Most of us don't tend to think of engineering, a very 'technical'
job, as being dependent on curiosity and imagination-but it is! So the next
time your child wants to build a rocket ship out of a box so that she can
explore outer space, don't redirect her to a more 'educational' activity.
She's developing a skill set that will serve her well throughout her life." It cultivates an active mind. While you might sometimes fear that you'll
explode if your child asks you "why?" one more time, overall, those
questions are a good thing. They're a sign of an active mind that's
constantly analyzing the world and trying to figure it out. Admit it: You'd
be concerned if your child accepted everything around her with nary a
protest or murmur! "As long as a child is curious, she'll be exposed to new facts and ideas,
and the metaphorical wheels in her head will be in continuous motion,"
points out O'Toole. "This is the kind of mental activity that fosters true
learning, not just good grades. (Unfortunately, many parents tend to place
too much emphasis on the latter, and not enough on the former.) Curiosity
is also the force that drives personal development, because thinking
through new concepts and ideas is what allows us to mature and to develop
more nuanced, open-minded worldviews." It counteracts boredom. The fact is, even the most attentive parents can't
keep their children entertained 24/7. Sooner or later, that new electronic
game will get old, your youngster will become too squirmy to sit still and
watch TV, or he'll lose patience with the fact that your attention is
elsewhere. And if his natural curiosity isn't able to redirect his
interest, the dreaded B-word-boredom-will strike. And that's when trouble
often starts. "A child who is bored might act out in order to bring adults' attention
back to him-hello, tears and tantrums!" O'Toole points out. "Over time,
this child might be overly attached to Mom and Dad because he depends on
them to keep him entertained, he might become a couch potato or PlayStation
addict, and it's possible that he'll lack an overall sense of motivation
throughout his life, to name just a few things. And as easily bored kids
get older, the stakes get higher: How many teenagers engage in dangerous
behaviors because 'there was nothing else to do'?" It encourages self-sufficiency. All parents want to raise children who can
take care of themselves in a variety of situations, and who don't
constantly rely on others to bail them out. Once again, curiosity is a big
part of how parents can make this desire a reality. For many of the same
reasons why curiosity sparks creativity, it also encourages kids to be self-
sufficient. The progression goes like this: Child has a problem or
question. Curiosity prompts child to ask "How can I solve this?" or "Why?"
Child acts on the answer she comes up with instead of waiting for an adult
to "take care of it." "For a young child, this sense of curiosity-driven self-sufficiency might
manifest itself in putting together her own very unique, somewhat
mismatched outfit in the morning," O'Toole explains. "An older child might
set up a lemonade stand or arrange to do chores for an elderly neighbor so
that she can raise the money to buy the new bike she wants. Essentially,
curiosity is an essential tool in enabling children to solve their own
problems. You can also think of it as extra insurance against having your
adult child take up residence in your basement!" It inspires persistence. You've heard the term "burning curiosity" before.
It refers to a too-strong-to-be-dismissed impulse to know why, how, what,
etc. You've probably seen this in action before: When your curious child
really wants to know why the dinosaurs died, for example, he won't be
satisfied with a one-sentence answer. He'll keep asking you to explain what
you know, and he may even take the initiative to read books, to do research
online, or perhaps even to build a dinosaur out of papier-mâché. "Persistence sparked by curiosity is the difference between the child who
memorizes facts and methods for the sake of a good report card and the
child who voluntarily reads science articles or novels outside of school,"
O'Toole says. "Curiosity will also foster resilience (which is an important
component of persistence): If your children want to know what's over the
next hill badly enough, they'll be motivated to get back up and keep
climbing whenever they stumble and fall." It counteracts self-absorption. As a rule, curious people are very aware of
how much they don't know. Because they're always asking questions and
seeking answers, they have a more fully developed view of the world and how
it works, which makes them less likely to think they're the center of it. "When they achieve one goal, curious people will soon be driven to pursue
the next milestone instead of sitting on their laurels, patting themselves
on the back, and demanding accolades," adds O'Toole. "For a generation of
youngsters who have developed a reputation for being selfish, spoiled,
entitled, and materialistic, this is key!" It sets kids up for long-term success. Throughout history, it's always the
people who ask "Why?" or "How can I make this better?" or "What is the
solution to this problem?" who make the biggest impacts on our world.
(Think about individuals ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Marie Curie to
Steve Jobs.) On a smaller, but no less valuable scale, those who ask
questions and refuse to accept the status quo transform companies, lead
communities, live adventurous lives, and are most fulfilled personally. "Of course, the opposite is true as well," O'Toole warns. "Adults who
aren't curious may do well enough in the world, but they rarely influence
it. They're the people in your office who do what's expected of them, but
no more. They're the couch potatoes who don't seem to have any interest in
meaningful hobbies. They're not the people you want your children to grow
up to be. Instead, you want your children to always wonder what life has to
offer next, both personally and professionally, and go after it!" "The best news of all for parents is that you don't have to create
curiosity from scratch," O'Toole concludes. "Remember,