To ride one’s hobby horse, is to indulge in ones favourite pastime. Learning new hobbies are a wonderful way for children to have fun, develop skills and make new friends. A hobby can either be practiced in a group or alone, according to ones temperament and the nature of the activity. Hobbies can also manifest as collections, which can last for a lifetime - that is from childhood to adult years. Hobbies extend the world of entertainment beyond the watching of TV, playing computer games or seeing movies on DVD’s.

One cultivates hobbies for pleasure and enjoyment and not for financial gain. Hobbies can lead to the acquisition of great skills, knowledge and experience at a later point of time. However hobbies are primarily for personal fulfilment and self expression and not for livelihood or material gain. Children can afford to spend a lot of time on their favourite hobbies because they don’t have to bother about earning a livelihood and remuneration.

Craftwork is an all time favourite hobby of children. Some common craft activities for kids are puppet making, finger painting, vegetable painting, string painting, origami, making paper and cloth dolls, stitching, needlework, painting, candle making, bead craft, book craft, printing, printmaking, fabric painting, pokemon crafts, prehistoric crafts etc. Children also love to read and write. Collecting stamps, books, coins or any other item are also hobbies. Carpentry, gardening, trekking, bolckbuiding are also some things which children love to do.

Some children also pursue different sports, dancing, singing, play acting and playing of different musical instruments as a hobby. Cooking is also a favourite hobby with children world over. It is a very creative pursuit which is highly therapeutic. Photography is also a good hobby for grown children. Playing computer games, net surfing and chatting on the net has become favourite tech hobbies in recent times.

Scrap booking is another hobby which has consumed children from times immemorial. It helps in their emotional and psychological development.

Hobbies, which appear uninteresting and trivial at the outset, have evolved into serious professions for some individuals. Children are known to become hobbyists or amateurs in their favourite pursuits with time. These can consume their adult years and transform into professions of passion.

Indian children are very talented and possess a lot of skills in them. We need to cultivate this talent in the right direction by teaching them the various facts about animals, places, our history and culture and give them a change to know India.