Our child can do anything
Every parent couple sees many talents and talents in their child. And it is also important to challenge and support gifted children without pressure. Of course, not every development step is an unusual talent. But how can parents recognize gifted children?
Piano lessons at the age of four, the first computer before starting school, every week to the tennis teacher. Is that the best way to encourage our children? Does that pave your way to a successful future? Should we worry if our daughter or son isn’t interested in an instrument and thinks tennis rackets are stupid? If you want to know about kids coloring pages please click here.
Talent promotion without performance pressure
We parent want the best for our child’s future, which also means that we support their respective talents. Kindergarten and pre-school age is the right time for this. But how do we determine the child’s strengths and weaknesses? How do we “promote” our children to feel supported and not put under stress and pressure to perform?
We want to show you how you can use simple means to recognize and support your child’s individual talent – and how to have fun while doing so.
Every kid has talent
The good news is that no untalented children. Because talent is diverse and does not only refer to purely intellectual achievements. A distinction is made between, for example, linguistic talent, mathematical talent, spatial intelligence, musical talent, sporting and motor skills, creative and artistic talent and social-emotional intelligence. The latter in particular is the basis for self-confidence and self-assurance and thus also for a successfully designed life.
Our child needs time and space to develop their interests and talents. And it needs you as a reliable, supportive and stimulating companion in discovering the world and gaining experience. If you want to know about kids coloring pages please click here.
Reading aloud – a proven means of promoting development
Given your job and multiple burdens, what can that look like in concrete terms? Perfection and being around the clock are not required here, but prioritization and conscious, loving attention, for example, by regularly looking at picture books and reading stories together, such as every night before bed.
This not only demonstrably promotes visual and language skills. Your child also experiences closeness and security, which positively affects well-being and self-esteem. Talk to your child about the pictures and the stories, explain and encourage them to ask questions and come up with ideas, even if it takes time. If you give your child affection and let them finish speaking,
Your attention is required
There is a simple way to find out our children’s special characteristics and individual strengths: Observe the behavior in the game – alone or with others. Does my child throw the ball himself or does he rather watch the game? Is it more comfortable alone, in pairs or in a group? Does he prefer to hear a story or enjoy the pictures instead? Does it need instructions or does it like to invent its own rules? Once you have found out when your child feels best and what he enjoys most.
You can support these talents in a targeted manner – to benefit your child’s development. So give your active and friendly child the opportunity to climb, run and play ball with their playmates daily. Of course, passive children also need exercise, preferably outside competitive situations. You can go hiking or swimming with them. Visually inclined children love puzzles, photos, comics and visiting museums. Creative children depend on freedom and a wide range of materials. Only in this way can they find their means of expression and solutions.
It’s more fun together
You can reinforce your children’s activities and ideas by praising them and encouraging them to participate as much as possible. If the son or daughter enjoys music, you can, for example, make musical instruments together. All you have to do is look around your household: cleaning buckets, whisks, storage jars filled with rice, saucepans
cover and much more. Then find out which sounds can be produced, play a rhythm and then jump and dance to the notes together. With these movements to the music, you also promote children’s language acquisition. Or spread out a large piece of paper on the floor and paint together – possibly to the sound of music. Look at the picture together. What shapes and colors can you see? Is there a place in the apartment to hang the picture?
Where can you learn more about talent?
Many of the suggestions for the fun discovery of children’s talents come from the guide. “Discovering and strengthening personal talent”. The book also discusses the difference between innate and developable talents and addresses intellectual as well as social, emotional, creative and physical forms of ability.
The book by Sandra Burt and Linda Perlis, “My child has talent. Discovering and promoting talent” (Herder 1999) also contains numerous tips and concrete assistance, for example on the subject of computers in the children’s room. The authors are not concerned with support at any price but with the optimal development of the individual child’s potential, supported by the unconditional trust and love of the parents.
The work of the British child psychologist Sylvia Clare deals with the potential of the children but also with that of the parents and their emotional competence, “I can do that on my own! How to promote the potential of your child”. Clare introduces a parenting method for parents and children that encourages children to achieve self-imposed goals.
The education expert Donate has set up a new, open educational canon in discussions with parents, educators, brain researchers, developmental psychologists and others. It is intended to promote practical, social, motor and aesthetic skills and experiences in pre-school children. The book “World Knowledge of Seven-Year-Olds. How Children Can Discover the World” can be read in the book” (Kinsman 2001).
Finally, a tip on the much-discussed topic of giftedness:
In addition to various guidebooks, you can find out more about it in brochures from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
And of course it makes sense to talk to other parents about talent in all its varieties – maybe your kindergarten can serve as a mediator. They can certainly also help you with the addresses of advice centers if you need professional help with development problems or talent focuses.
