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Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

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Re: Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

#31
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saving the next person some immediate confusion an extra cliks :) :) http://phoniebox.de/index-en.html https://github.com/MiczFlor/RPi-Jukebox-RFID

Thanks... I did not think about the confusion, but you are right. My article contains the hint, that I build an RFID based music box for / with my daughter... and of course my programming effort to print labels for the RFID stickers ;) She is SO happy with this thing, it is a pleasure to look at her still using her wooden RFID tags to play "The Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book and dancing in her room nearly eve…

Very cool idea, indeed!

Re: Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

#32
post #17

Ask her what she finds interesting and based on her answer(s), find the most appealing to you and start designing a logic based on it, a prototype if you will. Tell her that for this project she will be your project manager that would lead to the fruition of the end product; that would be enough to keep her engaged with the whole process. Good luck!

> Tell her that for this project she will be your project manager > end product That does not sound fun. I don't think I was envisioning things as management and products when I was a child. The first line of your comment does sound fun, however.

Our son was very fond of acting as a "project manager" when he was young - like 3 or 4 years old.

His idea of playing with a (age appropriate) train set was to get his mother to set everything up under his direction, similarly going to the beach he'd direct me to build a dam... (which I was happy to do).

Re: Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

#34

Being unemployed probably means you don't have a huge budget, but some for our child I've tried to do a little bit of "everything" to see what he enjoys. When I ask him what he wants to do he says "I don't know", so I say "We're going swimming in the sea", "Lets plant some seeds", "Today we're cooking / sewing", "Lets pick a spot on the map and go visit it by bus/tram", or "Lets draw pokemon evolving". (maps are kind…

> "Mommy music" doesn't appeal as much which I find a little fascinating.

What genres does "Mommy music" consist of?

Re: Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

#35
Oh, do not keep her busy. Let her wallow in the discomfort of having nothing to do, but do not give her the modern things which are an easy escape from that discomfort (TV, Computers, etc). You will see her natural interests reveal themselves and when they do, give them all the interest like they weer your own as well.

Do your own thing and she will see how it looks to be engaged in something you like.

All the other props and gimmicks will only implant your interests on her, which might be the the same and that is ok, but most likely they will not be.

However, she should be with friends around her age as well. Parents are important, but negotiating friendships is invaluable.

Re: Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

#37

Some things I enjoyed as a girl: Target practice, berry picking, helping my father do woodworking projects, learning to shoot a bow, playing assistant in the kitchen to my sister's baking, collecting vegetables from the garden for dinner, trips to the library with my mother and sister where I would lay on the floor and read Dr. Seuss while my sister worked on stuff for her high school newspaper, putting together imag…

Wow, that sounds like quite the variety of fun when you were younger; kudos! My dad was very much into sports, so my siblings and i - as you can imagine - played lots of sports in our youth; somewhat on teams but more so just with each other. And honestly, as fun as team sports were, i enjoyed my time tons more with just our little family unit when i was a kid. Kudos again to you for your fun youth! :-)

Re: Ask HN: How to keep my daughter busy while tickling her curiosity

#39
I don't think what to do is as important as to how to do it. As you are unemployed, you probably have a lot of free time, while at the same time having to do house chores.

What I would do, is establish a more or less organized schedule, but letting her know that you will set apart a certain amount of time daily to play with her. What to do with then, is up to her.

Also, try to get her involved with the house chores. As long as it doesn't feel like work - obviously don't make her work - she'll also enjoy those tasks, while at the same time learning, getting used to it, and enjoying her time with you.

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