We are all born with a gift – something at which we excel. When you notice a talent emerging in your child, you should do what you can to ensure the skills are utilized and don’t go to waste – you could have the next Van Gogh in your family!
When your child’s gift starts to become apparent, here are some ways you can grow and nurture it according to how it manifests.
Creative Kids
Does your child love to sit and draw wonderful pictures with crayons? Do they have a natural gift for creating brilliant collages from tissue paper and sequins? If your child shows talent in arts and crafts, there are a number of ways you can grow their skills.
Buy some artist sets for young artists to develop their imagination, manual dexterity, and creativity. Never prevent your child from using paints because you don’t want to get your home messy. Throw plastic sheets over your floors and tables and let your wee one express themselves. When your kid is very young, they will love to squeeze paint through their fingers and toes – just make sure you use non-toxic materials.
Supply your offspring with a plethora of art and craft materials such as pom-poms, pipe cleaners, lolly sticks, crepe paper, and glitter; sit down with them and show them how to do different projects. As your child ages, their creative skills will develop, and soon they will be producing masterpieces.
If you are not remotely creative or wish your child to have extra tuition, find suitable art classes in your local area.
Sporty Kids
On school sports day, it is obvious which kids excel at sport as they will leave the rest of their class in a pile of dust while they sprint along at high speed and crash through the finishing line ribbon.
Whether your child is a star at swimming or tip-top at tennis, you can help them grow their talent by enrolling them in after-school sports classes or weekend sports clubs and holiday camps.
If they show exceptional cycling skills, you could buy them a bicycle that is a cut above the average kid’s bike and encourage them to hone their skills by cycling with you in their spare time. You may want to get them professional cycling lessons where they will learn how to control a bicycle and learn road safety.
A child who stands out on the football field could attend try-outs for the local football team. If they are successful, they could move up the leagues and end up being the next Ronaldo.
Mathematical Kids
When your child is very young, you may notice they have an affinity for numbers when they pile up numbered wooden bricks in numerical order or set their toys out in straight lines and organized groups.
A talent for mathematics can be nurtured by doing plenty of numeracy-based activities at school and home by making everyday tasks include a mathematical element such as counting the number of clothes that need washing and sorting the colors into groups. When you are driving, you can fire questions at your child on the subjects of subtraction, addition, and times tables. You will be surprised how quickly your child will pick up multiplication on a long car journey.
Musical Kids
Having the skills to play a musical instrument with ease is a pretty rare skill, and once in a while, a child will come along who can play a tune on a piano after hearing it only once.
If your baby beats out a tune on their toy drum or tambourine or your eight-year-old leaves their teacher aghast when they belt out a melodic tune on the recorder, it may be that your pride and joy is a musical prodigy.
Ask your child’s class teacher if they could allow your child to try out some different musical instruments and see if they have an affinity for a particular one. If they do and are keen to hone their skills, you could enroll them at a music school that offers classes outwith school hours. You could also buy them an instrument so they can practice at home.
Dancing Kids
Babies who are nimble on their toes may grow to become prima ballerinas if they show dancing skills as they grow.
Not everyone is born with rhythm and able to bust some serious moves on the dance floor, but if your baby shows some natural ability and a genuine love for dance, then you should encourage them to pursue the dream.
Enroll your child in a dance class that covers different areas of dance such as ballet, tap, modern, street, and jazz and see which they like the most. Be wary of encouraging a career in ballet as professional ballerinas have been known to become quite arthritic after years at the bar.
Remember to encourage your child’s talent only if they want to pursue classes and show an interest. Never push anything upon them.
