Vary familiar routines from time to time. For example, sit in a different chair during feeding, or sing a new song before naptime or while changing diapers.
Varying routines and changing familiar things in the environment stimulates the initiative to explore. Curiosity and initiative to carry out creative exploration is fuelled when children encounter new things that behave in unexpected ways. Studies with infants and preschoolers demonstrate that children’s curiosity is fuelled by uncertainty and conflicting evidence.
Researchers found that when infants see something surprising, such as a ball passing through a solid wall, they focus more on that ball and learn more about it by testing relevant hypotheses about the ball's surprising behaviour. For instance, infants may bang the ball to test if it was solid. Hence, caregivers who provide children with occasions to explore novel objects or be exposed to familiar environments with some changes, help to develop children’s initiative to explore and their problem-solving abilities.
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