As a parent, we need to understand that every child is very unique and has been gifted with unique talents. Not every child has the same aptitude in a particular task/subject and may perform differently as compared to other child. Being a parent we are conditioned to expect our child outperforming everyone else in any given task, which is actually a very unfair expectation from our child and sometimes this sort of expectations overburden the child to focus on those things on which S/he is average and never let to explore what they are good into which lead to follow the rat race and their god gifted talent stays hidden. The talent which could have helped them to get an identity or they could have achieved success in that particular field.
As an aware parent, it is our responsibility to accompany them in the journey of discovering and identifying the child to find out the things they are naturally good into which may ultimately help them to decide the path they would like to pursue in their life.
We can do the following as a parent to help our child identify their talent:
- Accompany, not lead: We need to understand that it is their journey. What they like or don’t like must be their choice or decision. So as a parent we can accompany them in this journey where we can support them in case of difficulties or guide them wherever required and can provide the needed resources to the child. We don’t have to lead them, otherwise they may go to a path which may not be their inhibited talent.
- Don’t Compare them with others: Our desires of seeing them outperforming other children pushes us to do unfair comparison with others which ultimately overburden the child to perform on the expectation of parents rather than doing what they enjoy. We need to understand that the child cannot be good in everything. You cannot compare Tulip with Rose but they both are uniquely beautiful. So as a parent we have to assure they are free from the peer pressure which may help them to enjoy their journey on their chosen path.
- Expose them with different things: Children may themselves not aware of the unique talent they have. As a parent we can give them different opportunities to get them exposed with various tasks. It can be studying different subject, writing stories and poems, some creativity based fun activities such as drawing, making objects through clay or papers, it can be singing or dancing or any sort of sports. Let them chose what they like to do and just be around them to support in case they need you. Now a days, science has also come along with some good things to enhance child’s brain to be more aware, help them to concentrate well and improved intuition which may ultimately help them to understand what they are good into. Vedic Manas Yoga program from Patanjali is one of such program which is an integration of Vedic Wisdom, Ancient and modern science and spiritualism. Their Atmadarpan tool also helps them to identify their personality through their finger prints which may guide them to find their hidden talent and pursue them to be successful in their life.
- Share some stories: You can share stories of the people who have achieved good in their life through books or by yourself which may help them to visualize and get inspired from the stories. These people can be from different industry: Entertainment, Academics, Science, Defence, Politics, History, Sports etc. Children adapt their positive qualities very easily and it also sometimes awaken the awareness of the path they like to follow.
- Don’t make them the tool to complete your unrealized dreams: As a child, we parents also had some aspirations. But due to different circumstances we couldn’t realize those dreams. It could have been financial crunch, our family compulsions, peer pressure or improper guidance. As a parent, now we have to assure that our child is free of them and could go on its chosen path. We have to save our child from our unrealized dreams as sometimes we want to complete our dreams which actually push them to leave their path and do something we wanted to do in our life. Even if they don’t possess the talent, just to fulfil our dreams child just start doing what we want and become an average person. In a philosophical way, we shouldn’t make them victim of victim.
- Give them positive environment: Child is just like a plant which need conducive environment to flourish. As a parent, we have to assure that our child grow in a positive environment at home, their happy hormones are active and they are doing things with a smile on their face. This positive environment let them be creative, highly energetic and take failure in whatever they try as a normal thing.
