Encouraging children to dream big
Essential Kids
Children are often faced with the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question can be a confronting one for a young child to answer. Some kids are happy to share their excitement at being the next teacher, doctor or lawyer. Others may be a bit more confused. For a small number of children, though, the answer could be quite simple.
These kids, filled with incredible ambition are the high achievers. They are willing to do nothing short of dreaming big. You probably remember as a child wanting to ‘be’ so many different things. Maybe you attended singing classes or played an instrument, so you dreamed of being a musician. Maybe you took drama lessons and dreamed of being an actor. Maybe you had high hopes for a professional career in sport. Or maybe you wanted to start your own business from the ground up. For many of you, life went in a different direction and you pushed those dreams aside.
But what happens, then, if your child refuses to push those dreams aside? What if your child has ‘big dreams’ about the future and is already equipped with the talent and skills required to achieve them?
High achievers
According to Professor Mark Gabbott, Executive Dean at Macquarie University’s Faculty of Business and Economics, there are early signs that your child could be a ‘high achiever’.
“There are some qualities that do set some children and young people apart,” he says. “Their natural interest or curiosity, the speed at which they can learn something new, their aptitude for understanding complex ideas and their passion for learning can all indicate that a child is achieving at a higher level.”
But knowing that our children have this capacity to achieve, is not enough. It’s important that parents develop the capability, sensibility and commitment of high achievers to help them become tomorrow’s leaders.
“This includes building resilience and self-awareness in children, opening them up to new opportunities and helping them realise that they can be whoever they want to be,” Professor Gabbott says.
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