The Potential of a ChildThe potential of a child is unlimited. You see for the rest of us there is a tainted aspect to the human potential equation. We have been talked into believing limiting things through well-meaning avenues such as parents, friends and the like. The potential of a child is still there though, there need not be any “fixing” done. A child has unlimited potential because they dream and believe outrageous things. Children are innocent until they are corrupted. When a child says they want to fly like superman they are normally told to be realistic and get their head out of the clouds. This is a terrible mistake. Children have an enormous capacity for learning new skills. It is during childhood that a primary language is learned. It is during childhood that muscle fibre predominance is determined. Children are a blank canvas, they can be moulded and taught if they are allowed to dream. Children Learn FasterOne of the reasons the potential of a child is so great is because they learn rapidly. Children learn faster because they don’t over-analyse, they learn instinctively. A child approaches the task of learning a new skill by jumping straight in and trying to learn the whole thing in one big chunk. They make mistakes but they don’t care because they have all the time in the world. Children continue to calibrate and make improvements until they have learned the skill. Children Have FunTake a look at a pre-school, the kids aren’t all miserable and stressed like the office where you might work. The kids are having fun, they generally love it there. It’s a chance for children to have fun and learn at the same time. Then adults come along and spoil the party by trying to make the child conform to rules and set ways of doing things. We are even taught how to think and what to believe. This eventually becomes quite the opposite of fun. The less fun and enjoyment we have the less we learn and the slower we can take in new skills. There is this massive trend now days perpetuated by celebrities that put their kids in structured learning environments at the age of two or three. This is not the optimal learning environment for a child. A child learns best when they are not thinking about it. They also learn better and pay more attention when they are having fun. ADHD, Poor Attention Span or Great LearnersI couldn’t approach the topic of the potential of a child without discussing ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ADD (attention deficit disorder). If there was a major hindrance to the potential of a child it would be the perception and belief in the negative aspects of ADHD. It is also one of the most commonly misdiagnosed disorders that exists today. It’s like every kid that gets bored and mucks up has ADHD. IT’S CRAP! Sorry but it is. I mean the disorder is real but the way it is dealt with and the common understanding of it is bullshit. Here’s why… ADD and ADHD is not a lack of attention. What it is is a long attention span, not a short one. It becomes a problem when a child is made to pay attention to something when their mind is on something else. It becomes near impossible to drag them away from the thing they want to pay attention to. This manifests as a perception of a poor ability to pay attention and learn, but if it is dealt with properly can be used to enhance a child’s potential.
ADHD and ADD are a true example of the potential of a child, but rarely is it approached effectively, so this potential is never realised. If a child with ADHD is put in an environment where they can learn when their attention is on something specific they will inevitably learn faster than a child without the disorder. The Potential of a Child Needs To Be NurturedEvery child has unlimited potential, it just needs to nurtured. If a kid is having fun they are generally learning something vital. This playful nature seems to actually be an in-built mechanism for learning. Without the fun the child learns slowly. Does this make any sense to you? It should because the evidence is plain as day. Kids are a starting with a clean slate. Please, I beg you to mould them the right way. Let them have fun, nurture their interests. Do not under any circumstances shoot them down with your own limiting beliefs and tell them to “be realistic”. The potential of a child is something you have control of. Let it bloom, let them be outrageous and let them learn through games and by example. Return to our home page from about the potential of a child |
