| Parenting:We must nurture the skills our children are passionate about | Send to a friend |
| Saturday, 21 January 2012 19:15 |
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(Summary) Developing a child’s full potential means bringing out his/her innate talents and nurturing the same through encouragement By Nahashon Wasike As a child, I liked drawing images from my imagination and sometimes copying those already printed. I had the freedom to draw and we even had an art exhibition where drawings from different pupils from different schools were showcased. I only managed to send the articles once, but I continued drawing. Things changed when my mother noticed that I liked drawing more than brooding over books. I was warned I should never be seen drawing. I had to kill my passion, my dream, my talent. By the time I left campus, I could not salvage it. A story is told of a guy whose parents wanted him to pursue a degree in medicine. He did so well, graduating with a first class honours degree. After his graduation, he took the degree certificate and handed it to his parents, saying he had done what they wanted him to do, and he was off to do what he wanted. Not allowed There are many of us who had a passion in various fields but were not allowed to pursue what we desired. From all the cries I have heard, the major problem is that our education system is more examination oriented than practical. It ignores our extracurricular talents and only acknowledges our prowess, or lack thereof, in academics. Policy makers in the education sector need to revise the system beyond just changing the curriculum. The second major problem is parents. There are many parents who have unfulfilled ambitions and believe their children can fulfill them. Too much pressure These parents put so much pressure on their children to perform well and become the doctors, lawyers or pilots they wish they had become. It is these parents who will not allow these children to do anything contrary to what they want. Even if their children show interest or genius in a particular field, most of the time, this is ignored or punished. Many of today’s parents swear not to bring up their children the way they were brought up. I don’t know if it is happening, because as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Parents are still burdening their children with the pressure to perform well and join prestigious school, and they will do anything for this to happen. This explains the increase in the number of private schools where a lot rote learning takes place. It is also the reason we have so many private tuitions happening in our homes, schools and churches. Have we ever stopped and thought about what our children want? Do we give them a listening ear when they want to explain why things in school are not going the way we want? But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We hear many of today’s musicians and actors pay tribute to their parents for supporting their chosen careers. And I hope we will hear more people in careers deemed non-academic pay their parents the same compliment. ENDS Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it UTILITY Five ways to develop a child's latent talent "Is my child gifted?" That is the question asked most often by parents of gifted children. After that question, the most frequently asked question is "How do I nurture my gifted child?" Here are five simple answers to that question. 1. Follow your child's lead What does your child enjoy? What does your child seem to be good at? Provide opportunities for your child to work with things he or she enjoys or is good at. For example, if your child is good at music or a sport, provide opportunities for him or her to learn an instrument or play a sport. 2. Expand your child's interests It is also important to expose your child to new things. Children only know what they have been exposed to, so if they've never been exposed to music, they may not know whether they like it or are good at it. But it is not forcing a child. 3. Be creative Gifted children love to think and solve problems, so provide them with ample opportunities for doing so. For example, if your preschooler or kindergartner likes to read, you might write daily notes to pack in their lunch box. If your child likes science, you might cook together and then ask your child why vegetables get soft when they're cooked or why cakes rise when they're baked. 4. Look for outside activities 5. Keep a variety of resources at home These resources need not be expensive or elaborate. They just need to allow your gifted child to develop his or her interests or get exposed to new ones.. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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