They say that children are the future. They have all the potential for success and prosperity, as long as they are given the right tools and means to succeed. If you want your child to succeed, you need to make sure that they realize their full potential. The question remains: How do you achieve this?
1. Find affordable opportunities
Let’s face it, there are more than a few educational opportunities that cost a pretty penny. You want your child to get the highest quality of education, but some opportunities might be out of your reach. However, this shouldn’t be something that you let hold you back. There are countless options to get around financial limitations when it comes to education and sports.
The Australian government generally offers a wide variety of scholarship options that allow children to get the highest possible education that they require. It’s not just something that is available at the college level, either. There are even programs for high school scholarships. They can provide children and their families with the necessary resources and equipment that will allow the child to reach their full potential.
Not all of these options are advertised freely, which is why it’s important that you do your research and find these opportunities for your child.
2. Recognize potential
Keep in mind that not every child will be a wunderkind. There are areas that they will excel at and areas where they might not. It’s important that you recognize talents early and focus your attention towards realizing their potential. Talents are only as good as the effort and resources that go into honing them.
You need to have an early start and see what your child understands and enjoys. It’s a tricky thing to look out for. Just because your child has a knack for painting at the age of five doesn’t mean they’ll turn out to be artistically inclined. Enrol them in a variety of sports and activities to see what they enjoy and how they adapt to different environments. Try to avoid pushing your own wishes on them and dictating where they should focus their strengths. It runs the risk of a negative reaction to something they might be good at.
Instead, do your best to carefully observe and note where their talents lie. Your child will naturally trend towards things they’re passionate about and good at. Show your support and encourage effort and dedication in every activity.
3. Show appreciation and enthusiasm
Children look to adults for nearly everything you do. It’s where they learn most of their social skills and how they shape a big part of their personality. Your reactions will play a big part in how they perceive activities from an early age.
If you show your enthusiasm and support for the activities they try, this will only bolster their own enthusiasm. It’s a cycle of positive reinforcement that will benefit them in the long run. Even if it isn’t something particularly important or useful, make sure you at least match their enthusiasm. It will further motivate them to give it their all and succeed.
4. Leave your expectations at the door
Every parent has some expectations for their child. It’s only natural that you see their potential and envision a certain level of success. However, this doesn’t mean that you should express your opinion or react negatively when your child doesn’t meet those expectations. Sometimes, there will be shortcomings even when they give their best. However, children are only people, and they aren’t perfect. This shouldn’t be cause for concern, because children tend to evolve in their interests and skills anyway.
If your expectations lead to a negative reaction, it might put your child under pressure later on. This will only lessen their enthusiasm and weaken their chances of excelling at their favourite activities.
5. Let them fail
A lot of parents seek the very best for their child. They want them to have a perfect track record and every success imaginable. It can be heartbreaking to see your child fail and not achieve their goals. However, failure is a natural part of life and your kids need to learn this before growing up. As bad as certain failures might seem, they can be extremely good learning opportunities for children.
Parents tend to steer their child’s development towards success by influencing certain factors. Sometimes you might help them with their homework right before it’s due. A kind word to a soccer coach could influence whether or not they spend time on the bench. Many schools opt to give participation trophies to children to avoid negative reactions from their parents.
However, a fear of failure will only delay the inevitable. Your child is bound to fail at something that really matters to them and they have to know how to deal with failure. The most successful individuals are measured by their number of failures that paved the way to success. If your children learn this early on, they will be able to adapt to setbacks and learn from them.
6. Encourage language skills
Some people learn for the sake of acquiring knowledge and to appreciate its inherent beauty. Others learn to get practical knowledge that will help them succeed later in life. People that seek both will lean towards learning a new language. The number of languages you know is one of the determining factors an individual’s success. Bilingual Australian individuals have more career and learning opportunities than individuals that only know one language. It’s an educational opportunity that allows better communication skills and networking connections.
It’s important for children to start learning a new language while they’re still young. The plasticity of children’s minds allows them to better absorb new languages and learn from native speakers. You need to make sure they start learning from a young age.
The choice of language is just as important. Not every language is equally useful. It depends on your location and connections. English is without a doubt the most important language to learn, especially for children. If they aren’t native speakers already, they should be encouraged to learn English for beginners at a young age. People all over the world use English to communicate, which is why it’s such an important language to learn.
7. Celebrate success
Success is not something that should be treated lightly. If your child shows great dedication and effort and ends up succeeding at something, it’s important that you celebrate this. Positive reinforcement will mean a lot to them and show them that they have your support. Even if their achievement isn’t anything to write home about, you should still strive to make it seem like it is.
It’s important that you choose the right words when congratulating your child. Even if they aren’t aware of it, children quickly catch on to the language that you use. Instead of praising their success directly, try your best to emphasize the importance of effort and dedication. Praising success alone will make them want to succeed at any cost. Good work ethic and values are more important than success. Speaking of, even when they fail, it would be nice to still find the time to celebrate their effort. Such support can go a long way in overcoming the dread of failure.
Conclusion
The way you treat your children and their educational opportunities will play a big part in their development. As long as you know how to handle the most important aspects, such as the ones mentioned, your child is going to benefit greatly from your knowledge.
About the Author
Stella Ryne is an art historian, traveller, conscious consumer and a proud mother. When she is not trying to improve the things around her (and herself, for that matter), she likes to lose herself in a good book. Stay in touch with Stella via Twitter and Facebook.