The word “talent”, is often understood by most people to be limited to an artistic impression like drawing, painting or playing musical instruments etc. According to experts, talent is a natural ability in a person based on an area of strength. Also, in development of a talent, there is a large role of child’s personality as well as the type of opportunities available to him over a period of time.

The sooner a talent is recognized in a child, the more time would be there to encourage and nurture that talent which would help him throughout his life. It is here that the role of parents as a talent scout for their child becomes most important. Even though a talent might be identified by other people that a child interacts with, for example teachers in his school or playschool, it is the parents who are the closest to a child and have the benefit of giving their undivided attention and observation to a child, which might not be possible in a group environment, like a school.

As a parent it is your duty to expose your child to various interests and activities and then keenly observe your child’s interest, liking or an extraordinary performance in something, that is unusual of kids of his age. That might well be the hidden talent of your child.

Here are some tips on how to encourage various activities that might lead to discovery of the talent in your little one.

Whether it’s different sports, drama, music, art or science, find ways to expose your child to as many of them.

However, you need to ensure that the child should enjoy what you intend to do for him. Do not force him into anything.

a) Sports – Take him along to watch a cricket match, golf tourneys, football matches or tennis matches or any other sport activity. Then watch where his interest lies. If he asks for a cricket kit, get him a cricket kit and indulge in his interest yourself. If he liked tennis, get him a tennis racket. Join a sports complex in your area and go there regularly with your kid and see what your child likes to play. You can start with professional coaching once his interest is figured out.

** A great opportunity is knocking at the doorstep of all parents living in Delhi and NCR region in the form of 2010 Commonwealth games, to be held in Delhi from Oct 3rd to Oct 14th 2010, and it would be a great time to introduce your child to various sports**

b) Drama and Theater – Take your child along for plays, puppet shows etc.

c) Music - Take your child with you to various musical concerts and programs, whether it is classical music, ghazals, pop or rock. Observe your child at the concert and his feedback and behaviour after that, do you find him singing or trying to play a guitar or a tabla!

d) Art - Art exhibitions, workshops etc

e) Science - A visit to the National Science Museum or the Nehru planetarium can wake up the scientist in him, if he is interested.

This is just a small example of various things that you can do.

Once you have identified your child’s talent, you should not take a sit back and watch approach but rather do everything possible to encourage that talent.

Provide him with all the possible tools and support to enhance his talent, even providing him with professional coaching if needed. Talent gets developed over a period of time and it needs a lot of perseverance. A child might be talented in one thing but might not like doing it, in this case help them enjoy that topic and talent will develop gradually at the right time. Do not make it a subject of study for them, but something they should enjoy and do voluntarily.

You can also take the help of your child’s school and the teachers to identify or later on develop the talent in your child.

Tip – Do attend the Parent Teacher Meetings in your child’s school and don’t hesitate to contact the teachers if needed before that.

Once the talent has been identified, make yourself fall in love with that subject and become aware of that yourself.

“If only had my parents taken note of my interest in a specific sport and provided me with guidance and training at the right time, I would have been a sportsperson now instead of watching that game just on TV.”, How many of us have thoughts like this every now and then ??

Well, I do for sure!!

However, in our times the environment was not so full of opportunities and our parents never read such articles, but now there is nothing stopping us from encouraging the talents of our children.

A child, is after all a child and does not understand the definition of talent or identify the importance or use of his talent in this competitive world. As parents, it’s our duty to not let a talent in a child fade away.

Not every child can be a born genius, but with regular sharpening and development of his talent, he can surely become a genius in his field when he grows up!!

Author – Rajan Arora – ( Founder of SchoolAdmissions.in)

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