10 Benefits of Raising Kids to be Lifelong Learners
One of the things I love best about homeschooling is that I have daily opportunities to encourage a lifelong love of learning in my kids. I want them to grow up to become lifelong learners.
But what does that mean?
Lifelong learning is defined as the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. It’s not based on a required set of circumstances; rather it’s learning for its own sake. But what’s the point? Why should parents strive to raise their kids to be lifelong learners?
Read on to discover some of the benefits of raising your kids to be lifelong learners, then sign up for our weekly newsletter, and to receive your free copy of the book, A Parent’s Guide to Raising Lifelong Learners.
10 Benefits of Lifelong Learning
Active minds stimulate people. The ongoing pursuit of knowledge leads kids and adults to richer lives through experiences, literature, and hobbies. There are so many great benefits that enrich a lifelong learner’s life.
Lifelong learners
- fully develop their abilities. Because they’re always searching for more information about topics that excite them, lifelong learners are more likely to develop their unique abilities than kids and adults that learn new things only after they’re told to or have a specific reason for doing so.
- have open minds. The act of seeking knowledge for themselves naturally makes lifelong learners more open to new perspectives and opposing thoughts. Understanding someone else’s point of view – and being able to articulately counter it – is fun for them.
- are voraciously curious. Typically, the more a lifelong learner learns, the more he wants to. His curiosity is piqued by stories about heroes and traitors and he must watch more, read more, discuss more about that person’s life. This curiosity becomes insatiable, filling his mind with wonder, and each new book, experience, and discovery sparks the next. Who wouldn’t want to raise a kid like this?
- are wise. When a person spends so much time exploring the past, and wondering about the future, he learns from all of those failures and successes he’s read about. He eventually learns to apply those lessons in his own life, and his perspective turns towards what could be based on the lessons of the past.
- make the world better. Those lifelong learners you’re working to raise could be the next to stumble upon an invention, innovation, or solution to a problem that’s been plaguing the world. When a person is constantly seeking – and finding – answers to questions, it’s highly likely that he will do something that makes the world a better place.
- adapt to change. Things change all the time – interests, societal values, technology, and so much more. A lifelong learner embraces change, and is eager to learn the next new thing. He’ll likely be the entrepreneur who is diving headfirst into whatever new technology that comes up, figuring out ways to make it work for him.
- find meaning. By constantly learning from past mistakes – both personal and historical – a lifelong learner can find meaning in both the good and the bad things that have happened to him and to the world as a whole. Everything leads to something, and he knows it, and is looking for ways to make changes meaningful to him.
- are active contributors to society. The lifelong learner won’t be content to grow and let others make decisions for him. He’ll look for ways to take part in his community programs, learning new things, presenting classes, and leading campaigns. He’s active and an asset to whatever community he’s a part of.
- lead rich lives. Lifelong learners will lead rich lives filled with experiences, hobbies, knowledge, and the drive to do and find out more. Teaching kids to want to learn and to love it is the best and brightest thing we can do for them – whether we choose to homeschool or not.
To continue encouraging you to raise your kids to be lifelong learners, and guide you in your own pursuit of knowledge, I’ve written A Parent’s Guide to Raising Lifelong Learners.
It’s yours free when you sign up for our weekly newsletter. I want you to have it, and I want your kids to lead those full, rich lives. Enjoy them. Teach them to love learning. Enjoy them. And learn together.