I believe my kids are rock stars. I believe in their dreams and want to do anything I can to help them reach them. But I want to make sure I'm am pushing them in a healthy way. Here are some tips to keep in mind when being a Passion Pusher:
4 Strategies to Support Children’s Pursuit of Passion
Try a few of these strategies to support your child through self-exploration and the pursuit of passion.
Know your child’s unique interests.
In the race to the finish line, kids are often plugged into the same sports and activities as their peers. The competition to succeed is fierce, and many kids experience anxiety as a result.
Instead of doing what every other family is doing, take the time to get to know and understand your child’s interests. Observe your child at play, ask open-ended questions and listen when your child shares her dreams.
Think outside the box.
Passion exists everywhere, not just on the playing for field or in a music room. Parents have a tendency to lean on organized sports and highly structured enrichment classes, but passion can play out right in your own home. Building, knitting, cooking and writing can all be done without structure and guided instruction.
When parents worry less about resume building and focus on what makes kids thrive, children find their unique interests and are happier for it.
Nurture optimism.
We live in a competitive world and kids experience a significant amount of pressure to perform. When they fall short, they feel deflated. We all fail at times, that’s part of life. If we want to raise “can-do” kids who can work through failure and come out stronger for it, it is wise to nurture optimism.Optimistickids are more willing to take healthy risks, better problem-solvers and experience positive relationships.
ou can nurture optimism in your family by starting each day on a positive, teaching them to view setbacks as temporary, modeling optimism and confronting negativeself-talk. When kids feel confident in their abilities, they find their passions.
Avoid judgment.
You might really love baseball and you probably couldn’t wait for your little boy to reach Little League age, but he might really want to stay home and work on his rock collection instead. Resist the urge and avoid judging your children’s choices. When kids feel judged by their parents, they feel rejected by the people who are supposed to love them the most.
It’s important to step back from our own needs and let kids be kids. The rock collection will probably come and go and in a few years your child might be really passionate about the violin. We can’t predict where our kids will end up and pushing them toward a certain passion won’t guarantee happiness or success, but we can support them in the present tense and allow them the freedom to pave their own road to happiness.