Part 1 - Nurturing Intelligence in Children
So your child is bright.
She is chatty and has a big vocabulary for her age.
He is observant on details and surprises you with making intuitive connections between issues.
What outcomes should we expect from a bright child?
Often, the expectation on a bright child defaults to academic excellence. In other words, when a child shows early forms of aptitude, parents may reward as such with more attention to more contact time in academic areas to cultivate intelligence.
I am all about optimising a child’s potential but it is not easy to fulfil one’s potential especially as one grows older. There will be clashing deadlines, unsupportive teachers or bosses, setbacks in friendships….all of which can affect our child’s circumstantial ability to do well.
Intelligence does not automatically translate to success outcomes. What we may not realise is that the biggest hurdle for any smart and talented child is from within.
For our intelligent child to optimise his potential, we must discover and develop his talent in an interest area. Developing an unshakable confidence and mental resilience is key to nurturing our bright child.
In a recent weekend, Trinity Kids held our annual sports day. Some children were ready to run, some were more shy initially. But as they got the taste of their participating event, most of the children wanted to keep trying more and trying harder.
Besides a strong foundation in learning, I am a big advocate of exploring and establishing our child’s talent. This is why we offer foundation classes in ballet, sports, taekwondo, music, Math and more.
Our child’s interest in gymnastics, music, swimming etc may first start off as a hobby. Our children benefit from nurturing their interest into a talent. It helps them to learning techniques and achieve milestone goals while doing what they like and enjoy. It enhances brain development and self-regulation skill.
As our child hones his/her craft and progresses further, this develops the critical inner voice called ‘Motivation’.
A motivated child who is committed to excellence in her talent pursuit, improving himself/herself, will naturally be more pledged to do well in other areas. Through the learning outcomes in talent pursuits, our children become empowered, gain positive self-image and acquire the skills required to excel in primary school and beyond.
So when and how do we start exploring our child’s interest and talent?
Timing is everything, there’s an ideal window of opportunity for planting the seeds of talents, gestation and harvesting fruits of labour.
Stay tuned for part 2 post for parents’ strategies and tips on ‘Exploring and Nurturing Talents in Children’.
Comentarios