Whether talent is innate or acquired has been widely discussed by scholars since time immemorial. With more and more discoveries in the scientific field, individuals are more inclined to believe that talent is indeed something acquired rather than predominantly innate.
Thus, nurture wins over nature.
Since talents are something favored by many that can be acquired, parents and guardians tend to encourage their young ones at an early age to develop these capabilities.
However, it has been proven to be quite difficult these days to nurture talents in young children. Video games and other technological devices only brought about distractions to young ones.
It is paradoxical that in this age of technology, attention span has drastically declined. Nowadays, 2-year-olds only have an average attention span of 4 to 6 minutes.
Nonetheless, parents and guardians can still make a difference despite the decline of the attention span of kids.
Here are some ways to unleash your child’s talent despite the current technological distraction.
1. Learn to Take Time
One of the biggest mistakes parents often overlook is that they also get distracted. But it is not about distraction caused by technology, but their conviction that their kids are special and have to stand out among their peers.
Because of this belief, many parents are impatient and pushy when it comes to their children’s mental growth. Most parents rush the whole learning process and other things. Rather than enrolling their children at early child care centers, they would skip this stage, believing their kids could do more.
Some parents even place a huge reliance on technology when it comes to educating their kids, thus neglecting the value of the traditional learning system.
Though some parents are successful in rearing multi-talented children with such a process, most kids could not withstand the pressure and break down at some point.
So instead of rushing your kids to become these multi-talented individuals when they grow up, let them enjoy the whole learning process.
2. Show the Value of Sacrifice and Perseverance
As someone raising another human being, you must instill in your children’s minds the value of grit — whether they are into visual arts, music, or sports.
Teach your children that for one to be good at something, sacrifices have to be made most of the time. This includes setting time limits on playing video games and other gadgets to make room for more practice sessions.
Besides learning how to sacrifice leisure time, it is best to encourage your kids not to give up when it comes to learning new things. Teach them that it is alright to be bad at something on the first try.
You should realize that being a parent means being the epitome of patience and perseverance for your kids to follow.
3. Nurture Freedom
Avoid becoming your children’s stumbling block for them to unleash their true potentials. Keep in mind not to be the source of delay and hesitation for your kids to explore their interests more.
Parents and guardians should let their children lead their way — let them discover and explore what they truly want in life. Though it cannot be avoided for most parents to want their kids to follow in their footsteps, pushing for it would be counterintuitive.
Encourage your kids to be the captains of their own ships. A parents’ role is to guide and support, not dictate and criticize. Being an encouraging parent fosters self-confidence in your kids. It will have a positive impact not only in developing their talents but also on their whole being.
This does not mean, however, that total autonomy should be handed over to your kids. Children are still inexperienced in their ways of life. They still need your guidance on what is right and wrong.
4. Seek Expert Instruction
Take into consideration seeking expert instruction to hone your children’s talents further. Like everyone else, parents also have limitations when it comes to expertise in a particular field.
If your kid is into singing, and you are not good at it, it would be best for everyone to seek a voice coach to help develop your child’s talent at an early age. Be it in the field of music, art, or sports, you should ask help from experts to further hone your child’s capability.
Final Word: Develop a Strong Relationship with Your Children
At the end of the day, what is of most importance is your relationship with your kids. Even when you hire as many experts to help unleash your kids’ potentials, nothing could equate with the bond that you have with your children.
So, whenever your kids share something about his or her goal, be there to listen. If he or she commits a mistake, be encouraging. Nothing is more heartbreaking to a child than parents who belittles his or her dreams.
