the sad thing about talent is that sometimes, it never gets discovered. it continues to be buried for such a long time that the owner of the talent never realizes that he has it. this does not need to happen with your child if only you would be able to provide excellent opportunitues for discovering his untapped gifts. how do you do that?
here are some effective ways i know:
1. let your kid play. play is child’s work. it is through play that he learns various skills and lessons crucial for his proper development. but aside from that, it is also through play that he learns where he is good at. make sure you give him the right educational toys to aid him in skill and talent discovery.
2. allow your kid to be himself. don’t expect your kid to grow up exactly the way you are. mikkel looks exactly like his dad but we never want to make the impression that he can only be good at things that mike or i are good at. i suck in math but if mikkel grows up to become a math whiz, why not?! while his dad is an artist, if mikkel grows up to become a scientist, we won’t stop him.
3. never pressure your kid. your kid is just a kid. if you make him do hundreds of extra-curricular activities a day just so he would become talented, you are only going to make him feel that all of these is a chore, instead of a great learning experience as what they are supposed to be. instead of enrolling him in piano lessons, basketball lessons, dance lessons, voice lessons, math lessons, and drawing lessons all at the same time, ask your kid what he really likes to do. also, make sure there is sufficient time left for family bonding time and for fun and games.
i can’t say i have successfully unraveled all of mikkel’s hidden talents but so far, i have learned that he is good in puzzles, and building blocks. he loves manipulating things and he has adept visual and memory skills. i also noticed that he has a penchant for photography just like his dad. i know mikkel will surprise me with more skills and talents as he grows up but all i want to do is to encourage (but never pressure) him to be the best in whatever he wants to become.
my mom gives me some dance lessons every week, that is how i got my dancing expertise .”*