6 secrets to spot and nurture your kid’s talents
Tags: Parenthood, Child Growth, Parenting, Education

Kids inner talent can manifest itself in various forms but that may need drawing out in order to shine. All children have abilities of one sort or another depending on their personality and these abilities need to be nurtured. Your youngster might be the first in the family to have a knack for gymnastics, or she might have a unique ability to make people laugh.

How kids practice, how they deal with failure, how they get praised, and how they are criticised, all play a part in the likelihood of achieving greatness. A hobby or passion not only instils qualities like team spirit, compassion, and patience in them but also teaches various life skills that may mould them into healthy adults.

Fortunately, you don’t need expensive tests to tell you what activities capture your child’s attention, spark her imagination and excite her so much that she’ll practice them without being told to. You just need to observe.

What does it mean to discover my kid’s talent?

Discovering your kid’s talent means that you understand what it is that your youngster is intrinsically motivated to do and how do you help her figure that out if she herself does not know. It means that the child does not come up to you saying that she is interested in story writing but you observing that after coming back from school, she takes out a notebook and starts to pen down her thoughts. It is about you going the extra mile and noticing minute little details of what your child does to discover what they are actually passionate about.

Helping your child discover his/her passions and talents is extremely rewarding. It not only gives them something they can be proud of, but also something they can identify with, and something they can offer the world, all of which help to boost their self-esteem.

Why should you discover and develop your kids‘ talent and passion?

Kids talent can manifest itself in any form such as a passion or hobby or general interest/curiosity. It is very essential to nurture these hobbies as they can serve as a means to the end for gaining fundamentally important 21st century skills, such as problem solving, collaboration, and creativity. It will also build the foundation for a lifetime of learning in your child.

Hobby or passion is anything that helps children develop their physical, intellectual, emotional and social capabilities. It provides a state of mind that is uniquely suited for high-level reasoning, insightful problem solving, and all sorts of creative endeavours. It might seem simple, yet it is elementary to a child’s development.

In the wake of rising academic pressure on kids, it is vital to develop hobbies

All of us are aware of the increasing pressure of rising academic standards. Extra-curricular skills and hobbies are being replaced by competitive exams. As a result, parents who aim to give their kids a leg up are led to believe that flashcards and educational “toys” are the path to success.

However research has consistently proved that creative & spontaneous hobbies fosters healthy mental and social development, and sets the stage for academic learning. Kids passion and hobbies help promote socio-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build a prosocial brain. It also enhances the brain structure and function and promotes the process of learning rather than the content, which in turn allows kids to pursue goals and ignore distractions. Social skills, which are part of playful learning, enable children to listen to directions, pay attention, solve disputes with words, and focus on tasks without constant supervision.

The loss of free play means a loss of creativity. School readiness includes an emphasis on the importance of whole child readiness (including social–emotional, attentional, and cognitive skills).Without that emphasis, children’s ability to pay attention and behave appropriately in the classroom is disadvantaged.

How will you discover your kids‘ talent and passion?

There can be various methods in which kid’s hobbies can be discovered but before we do that you need to know a couple of things.

First of all, you need to understand that it can manifest itself in any form such as; projects, hobbies, passion, sports, etc.

Secondly, it is crucial to know that pursuing a hobby is not just about having fun but also about taking risks, experimenting, and testing boundaries.

Thirdly, kids might not have the passion figured out. Some kids might need to explore various forms of these before figuring out what is interesting to them.

Secret #1 : Evaluate your child’s abilities and intelligence

As a parent, you should be aware of your child’s inherent abilities, curiosity and intelligence levels. It helps you to realise what they are capable of and allows you to take a deep seat and help promote and grow the child in fields he wants to. It is essential that you do not set out your own benchmarks and passions onto your child.

Children naturally want to make their parents happy so they may keep doing an activity that is pleasing to their parents long after it has stopped being exciting to them. Unfortunately, this can hinder them from discovering their true interests and talents.

Secret #2 : Observe your kid pre and post school

Children naturally do the things they love to do without prompting, so you should be able to determine their talents by simply observing them for a while.

Carefully notice what the kid is inclined towards and what he/she enjoys doing. Natural interests of a kid will be highlighted right from the beginning- like for example a kid who is inclined towards music may stop doing whatever he is doing and hum along. However, he won’t be shining in the particular field from the very beginning, as it will take time, effort and proper nurturing to do so.

Does your kid naturally gravitate toward group activities or solo projects? Does he prefer running around or sitting quietly? Which would he go to first: a drawing pad, an iPod or a scooter? Seeing what your child chooses for himself will give you a good idea of where his talents lie.

A kid would naturally be curious about whatever interests him. Hence he would ask a lot of questions, be very enthusiastic about it and be interested in knowing more about it. For example: if a kid is interested in playing the Tabla, he would ask questions about the instrument, would want to try and play them which proves that he is fascinated by the subject.

Secret #3 : Expose your child to a wide range of activities

Explore your child’s talents and interests. It is best that you don’t limit your child’s interactions to only the things that you are comfortable or familiar with. If you love basketball, your child may be more interested in soccer or tennis, or may not even be interested in any kind of sport. It is important that you remain open-minded about the things that may interest your child, and expose him/her to as many as possible.

Secret #4 : Encourage your child’s passion and interests

You should encourage your child’s dreams as opposed to squelching them. Even when those dreams seem unrealistic, allowing your child to follow his/her heart will teach him/her to work towards a set goal, even if the end result changes. As tempting as it may be to push your child from some activities, it is best that you allow them to enjoy themselves, unless that activity is dangerous.

Now that you have discovered your kid’s talent, how can you develop it?

Kid’s talent can be imbibed or inculcated in various ways and it is very essential to help promote and develop it in the right fashion. First of all, it is important to realise that talent is not born, it is built with time, effort and consistency.

Secret #5 : Foster a growth mindset

It has been found time and again that kids who have a growth mindset are more likely to take risks and try new things — therefore opening themselves up to the possibility of finding the one thing or things they feel passionate about.

Secret #6 : Help your child achieve the true potential

It has been found time and again that kids who have a growth mindset are more likely to take risks and try new things — therefore opening themselves up to the possibility of finding the one thing or things they feel passionate about.

When we praise a child’s intelligence, we’re telling her that status is the name of the game, and she reacts by taking fewer risks. When we praise effort, however, kids become more inclined to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them — the essence of deep practice and learning.

Conclusion

Kids activities has a tremendous impact on a child’s social, psychological and cognitive growth. It is important to realise and acknowledge as a parent that at the end of the day, your child is unique and it is important to accept them for what their true passions are. Imposing your choice as a parent will have a detrimental impact on the kid.