Can You Spot The Difference?

I was at a store recently purchasing a few household items when the generator stopped passing current to the building. The store owner picked up her phone to call a technician who should have a solution to the problem. Her son of about 8 years old probably sensing that the call was of no good to the situation, stood up immediately and began to give possible reasons why the generator went off. He then walked to the generator and noticed sparks of fire. He told his mum that the cable that connects the generator to the building had detached from the generator.  Mum immediately told the technician what her son had sighted and she hung up.

As if sighting the problem wasn’t enough, he switched off the generator, picked a tool, connected the wire back and switched on the generator and voila! everything was as it should be. All the while I was just watching and I was amazed at what an 8 year boy did. A picture played in mind and I saw the boy many years from now become a man of keen observation, a man that takes up challenges, and a man that offers solutions in his sphere of influence. I silently hoped that his mum had ‘spotted the difference’ in her son and will also encourage this difference in him.

 

How To Stir Up The Difference And Spot It?

1. Expose your kids to different environments (library, resorts, the zoo e.t.c), books, various activities (football, swimming, dancing e.t.c). By exposing them, you are increasing the probability of them discovering what makes them thick.

2. Watch out for things that catch their interest, their interest in solving specific problems and what they have fun doing because they can only play in their minds what they care for and enjoy doing. Keen observation by parents is important and it takes time spent with your kids to spot the difference. Do not downplay interests your kid has taken to. The difference could be as simple as kindness, gentleness, self-motivation and could be the very obvious ones like singing, physical strength and super reasoning e.t.c.

3. Encourage your kids from time to time as it motivates them to take the next steps. Praise as often as you can because without it confidence will be lost. Build on their strengths no matter how young they are and work out ways they can impact people with what they love doing.

4. Always give your kids room to solve problems, don’t always throw solutions to their challenges at them. Teach them to reason. A great man once said that the ‘best gift you can give your child is not wealth but to teach them how to think/reason’.

5. Let your kids emulate you. Let them be able to see that mum and dad are passionate about something and are driven as a result in proffering solutions in their areas of expertise. Let them know through you the importance of adding value to their world.

6. Interests in children change from time to time but that special thing remains constant and I call it ‘the difference’.

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