My 12-year-old daughter has great academic potential, and I want to do my best to help her realise it. I just don’t know how to ensure she doesn’t lose out on the best opportunities available. What should I get her involved in for realising my child’s potential?

You shouldnt hurry to enrol her in too many courses or get her involved in multiple activities. Instead, let her indulge in whatever she is interested in. She should discover her own interests and pursue them. Over time, when she recognises what shes really passionate about, she can move further in that direction.

Its tempting to try to make your child as multi-talented as she can possibly be, but you may end up getting her confused about what really interests her. As she grows, she will focus on subjects shes good at, and enjoys studying. Apart from co-curricular classes and activities, you can give her opportunities to explore her potential by allowing her to choose and use do-it-yourself books and kits, browse online and offline libraries, meet interesting people and visit different places. The point is to let her discover her interests and the world around her.

In the end, given enough space, encouragement and resources, she could surpass your expectations.

Nuturing Talent

Skill-building classes and courses arent the only way to develop a childs talents. Children need to be inspired and motivated, to keep their passions and interests alive. They often get bored with hobby classes and lose interest after a while.

Igniting their passions can happen when children are exposed to great ideas, creative work, amazing examples of art and science, and the lives of geniuses through biographies or videos. Talking to people from different walks of life also helps. With all this exposure, they are bound to bloom and blossom.

Also read: Unlocking every learner’s potential