Let him do what he loves-and he’ll fly
I am reminded of the internationally acclaimed musician and the Ambassador of Hope for Burundi – his country of origin, Jean Pierre Nimbona, aka Kidum. He started singing at a tender age of 10. His father discovered Kidum’s passion for music around then and went ahead to support and encourage him; not to only sing but to play musical instruments as well. It is not so clear to me if he was an achiever in class but his singing has taken him places. Just recently he was touring Europe. Back here, we all sing along to his tunes as we admire his deep lyrics and passion for music, but above all the fact that his father encouraged him to do what he was good at, is just over the board.
Mrs. Peris Ratemo, a child development expert, says it helps if your children grow up loving what they do. More often than not, they end up being successful. The opposite is also true, children who grow up not knowing what they are truly interested in spend their school, college and after life floundering or wishing they were in more fulfilling jobs.
To help your child be happy and do the things they love, you need to start supporting their interest from the time you discover what they gravitate towards; some even show their interest at an early age of six months. As they grow, encourage them and talk to their teachers about it and urge them to understand your children’s interests. That way, teachers will also understand them and embrace learning styles and different intelligence to enable your children to experience success and grow up feeling confident in their abilities. But, if your child is not showing particular interest, you could help him discover what it is they are cut out for.
Signs of his passion
■ They will have extraordinary love for the things that correlate with their interest, for example, water and swimming, music and singing or acting, writing, reading, football. You may notice that they prefer spending more time in water and dance whenever they hear music, among others.
■ Your child may exhibit a natural tendency to care for other children, or have a love for animals. That shows that they are naturally nurturers and care givers.
■ He may prefer being in charge when playing with other children.That could mean he is inclined to being a leader.
Even if you are not able to place your finger on that which your child loves at a given moment, just shun the temptation to impose your interest on them. Doing this will take away and kill the magic out of their personal discovery, creativity and learning. Be patient with them and before you know it, they will begin to exhibit signs that may point at what they love.
Discovering his interests
■ Watch your child and try to know how he processes any information that you give to him. You may realize that your child may gradually develop a love of learning and understanding where their talents lie.
■ Look at how your child learns best. While he may be a good auditory learner i.e. good at hearing, others may be prefer using illustrations and other using visual aids like letters matched with pictures. Allow them to embrace what works for them.
■ As you choose for them what to play, do or engage in as children, they grow older and gravitate themselves to that which was pleasurable to them most. That way you will know the type of extracurricular activities that will be more appealing for them.
Howard Gardner, a renowned educationist, identifies different intelligences that your child may have to help you discover who they are;
a) Interpersonal – they are sensitive to the moods, feelings and motivations of others. Most of the time, these children grow up to communicate well with others, become great team players and love socializing.
b) Verbal, linguistic – are very good with words, both spoken and written.
c) Logical – they are mathematics lovers. Very good at solving problems, logic and abstractions. They generally work well at reasoning and with numbers.
d) Musical – these children enjoy rhythm, music and tones. They sing a lot, play imaginary instruments and the likes.
e) Bodily – this is closely related to musical. Your child uses his whole body to solve problems or create something. They tend to enjoy different forms of movement, including dancing, sports and drama.
f) Visual; also know as spatial – this is the ability to represent the spatial world in pictures. These are the artists we have.
All the above gives you the leeway to allow your children to do what they enjoy and also for the sake of their positive development. So do it with love.
END: BL37/42-43