There is a time when every child begins to be interested in dinosaurs. Such is the point of interest that they could end up reciting about twenty species, their type of food and even their habitat.
When that interest becomes an obsession, scientists call it "intense interests." They don't know exactly what triggers it but they do produces benefits in cognitive development.
What do the figures say?
One in three children is interested in dinosaurs according to a 2008 study published in Developmental Research. The age range usually ranges between two and six years although some will continue to maintain their enthusiasm a little more.
In addition, these children tend to attract attention, as a main category, any motorized vehicle, closely followed by dinosaurs.
Which has benefits?
The fascination with a conceptual theme, such as dinosaurs, has been related to Better attention periods, information processing skills and persistence. All this is because they cannot remain passive consumers of information but must go out and learn in libraries or look for new resources.
This has been proven in three different studies where it was confirmed that older children with "intense interests" usually have a superior intelligence on average
The conclusion is that the obsession in this case for dinosaurs is the way in which the child learns a new topic in a fun way knowing all kinds of details such as periods, food, lifestyle ...
In addition, it has also been shown that the age range in which "intense interests" occur coincides with the ages at which most are played by resorting to the imagination (between three and five years).
An example is found in Michael Brydges, a 30-year-old data analyst who works for the city hall of New York City, who fell in love with dinosaurs when he was in first grade. In the second year I already wanted to be a paleontologist but the interest waned in the third year. This is often due to the fact that as children are integrated into a traditional educational system, they begin to cover different topics without leaving room for specialization.
What can we do as parents?
If our son has a great interest in dinosaurs, the best we can do for him is to support him by encouraging him even more. We can accompany you to the library to discover more about the different species, go to exhibitions or visit the Natural Science Museums.
In fact in Spain there are different routes focused on knowing more about dinosaurs in areas such as La Rioja or Cuenca. And you can even visit a theme park in Teruel. Remember that even if your child does not stop talking about dinosaurs, everything is for the sake of his brain.
Via: Mother.ly
