It’s no secret that “doctor” tends to be a pretty common career choice for many young children – and it’s no surprise, either.
From the moment we’re born, doctors are there to help us avoid illness and stay healthy. So, it’s almost natural that many children want to be just like these professionals when they grow up.
Of course, we as adults know there are many different types of doctors – and we also know just how much work goes into being a doctor of any kind. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads us to sort of shrug off our little ones when they say they “want to be a doctor when they grow up.”
On the other hand, by taking our children’s claims seriously, and nurturing their dreams of becoming a healthcare professional, there’s a fair chance that their dreams will one day become a reality.
Now, this doesn’t mean you have to lock them in their room and make them study all day (they’ll have enough of that in medical school!). You can still let your kids be kids, while exposing them to the world of medical science at the same time.
Take a look:
5 Gifts for Kids Who Want to be Doctors
As we alluded to earlier, a yearning to become a doctor at a young age says two main things about your kiddo:
- They love helping people
- They’re at least intrigued by – and possibly fascinated by – the world of science
The following gifts are sure to nurture both of these feelings within your child in fun and exciting ways that will truly matter to them.
Kids First Botany – Experimental Greenhouse Kit
While botany might at first seem like a bit of a non-sequitur (especially to your children), the Kids First Botany set can introduce your little one to the world of helping living, breathing organisms thrive in a rather low-risk environment.
With this botany set, your child can grow plants, flowers, and even edible beans – all while gaining a basic understanding of how to keep the organisms happy, healthy, and flourishing.
On the science side of things, the set also provides information to help your child learn about how the parts of a plant (and any living organism) interact with one another in order to survive.
(Not to mention the fact that the flowers likely smell much better than the hamster you were thinking of buying them…)
Magic School Bus: The World of Germs
Ahh, The Magic School Bus. Any child of the 90’s knows there’s not many people out there who make science as exciting as ol’ Ms. Frizzle.
Anyway, MSB’s The World of Germs set enables kids to dig into the experimental side of organic chemistry in ways that are much more exciting than the typical college-level chemistry lecture.
Using the petri dishes, test tubes, and more, your child can explore how compounds such as agar and yeast react when introduced to different chemicals (found in everyday, household items). Not only will this allow them to gain an understanding of the (sometimes slow-moving) scientific process, but it will also enable them to begin seeing their everyday world in a brand new way.
Magic School Bus: A Journey Into the Human Body
Another entry from the MSB collection, A Journey Into the Human Body allows children to gain a more concrete understanding of what actually goes on inside their own bodies.
The kit allows your child to conduct experiments such as heart rate examination and iodine starch tests, and to create mock bone structures and synovial fluid. As with The World of Germs, A Journey Into the Human Body requires children to utilize common household items in ways they might never have imagined before.
Some of the projects – such as the diagram of the human body – result in a finished product that can be displayed in your child’s room. This, in turn, increases the prevalence of health-related science in your child’s everyday life long after they’ve actually completed the project in question.
Basher Science’s Human Body: A Book with Guts!
Okay…not everything about health science is hands-on. As alluded to earlier, becoming a doctor does require a pretty huge amount of reading.
That said, you probably wouldn’t want to plop down a copy of Gray’s Anatomy in front of your 7-year-old. You don’t want to bore them right out of the medical field before they even get started, do you?
Instead, give them a copy of Basher Science’s Human Body: A Book with Guts!
This book presents pretty technical information regarding cells, DNA, bone structures, and more in a fun and interesting way that will almost definitely hook your kids on medical science. Each page presents a different topic, and is written in a way that makes said topic (e.g., red blood cells) the “hero” of their own little “story.”
While author Dan Green doesn’t dumb down the given information whatsoever, he also doesn’t make it overwhelming, either. A Book with Guts! can be used as a springboard for young doctors-in-training as they begin their journey into the medical field from an incredibly young age.
As we said in the intro:
If your child tells you they want to be a doctor when they grow up, take them seriously. You have no idea where they could end up if you get them started on the right path from a young age.
If they enjoy the activities, experiments, and books we talked about in this article, they’ll absolutely love Club SciKidz’ Young Physician summer camp. Throughout the five days the camp runs, your child will learn tons about the world of anatomy, biology, and organic chemistry – from how medicine and treatments help keep them healthy, to some of the crazy things the human body can do.
Registration is open now, so be sure to sign your little doctor-to-be up as soon as possible!