A guide to understanding the strengths and ambitions of your child
Children have inquisitive minds and their curiosity is one of their biggest strengths as that is what enables them to learn and grow. Their mind is not invaded by any sort of ego and they are full of hope and ambition; which is precisely what enables them to learn at a fast pace as compared to adults.
Children who opt for private tuition from a young age have an added advantage as their tutors who would have tracked their progress from the very beginning and it will be heartening to see their students progress to a great extent.
Some children show a considerable amount of improvement and well-being when they transition from primary school to secondary school and some when they transition from secondary school to junior college or polytechnic. The reason could possibly be due to the guidance on the part of tuition teachers or the change in learning environment.
Nonetheless, it is important for parents to remember the three great pillars of children’s success is, Curiosity, Creativity and their confidence.
CURIOSITY
Children ask the most intelligent questions to which adults answer, “it’s just like that”. Finding out the answer is not all that easy for these children and they look up to parents and parental figures to give them the answers.
The idea that everything else is much bigger than them and the understanding that there is so much to discover and explore is what precisely sparks curiosity among children.
This is also one of the areas in which parents can approximate as to what extent their child is curious when it comes to learning new things. Every child has his or her own learning pace and levels of curiosity in learning so identifying that is a true challenge; but it is essential.
CREATIVITY
The capacity to imagine and create unique solutions to complex problems is a distinctive human trait which is essential for inventions and developments to take place. Children’s minds are inquisitive and they often think of out-of-the-box solutions to problems in ways that adults can never think of.
Parents need to understand that knowledge is beyond logic reasoning and literacy; it’s about applying the information learnt to a dynamic context to look for possible ways of enhancement or to fill in loopholes.
CONFIDENCE
Children do not have enough years of life experience to distinguish proud moments from embarrassing ones. This is perhaps the predominant reason why they exude confidence and do not fear making mistakes or being judged by others.
Should children’s confidence take a beating, they will develop self-esteem issues and fear towards many things, all of which will build up and cause unwanted problems. It is also a huge barrier to their success as it prevents them from truly realising their potential.
All in all, parents need to comprehend the fact that every child has unique learning needs, talents and ambitions. It is every parent’s responsibility to guide their child the right way, to encourage them to ask questions uninhibitedly, to enjoy learning and to maintain confidence at every step of the way.