As parents, we always want what is best for our children and we also have their best interests at heart. We want our children to be motivated, curious, and eager to learn. We also want them to be ambitious because the amount of ambition that your children have, can determine their success in life.
Some of the skills that go hand-in-hand with ambition are resilience, perseverance, and hope. Ambition does not just develop in older children. Young children, also, are incredibly ambitious. As a parent, you can help your child develop ambition by setting goals for starters. There are also several other ways you can inculcate ambition in your children. That’s what this article talks about…
How to inculcate ambition in your child
Here are some ways that you, as a parent, can spark ambition in your child:
- Encourage your child: If your child wants to do something remarkable or out-of-the-box, do not rubbish the idea. Encourage your child to explore her potential fully and help her make it happen.
- Challenge your child:Being overprotective of your child will make them see the world as more frightening than it really is. Set your child challenges that will stretch her and then celebrate the successes with your child.
- Help your child see the world: Take your child along with you on exciting travels. Give your child opportunities to see new things, new people and new places. Your child is unlikely to change the world by staying home.
- Buy books for your child: This will broaden the mind and inspire ambition. Of course, you should be certain that the books your child is reading are age-appropriate.
- Encourage heroes: Work with your children to identify their heroes. There is nothing wrong with hero-worship. In fact, it is the perfect way to focus ambition. Encourage your children to find out what great things their heroes did and how it all started.
- Engage in role play: Creative thinking results from creative play. While children do this instinctively, you should encourage them and suggest different scenarios they can explore.
- Encourage group play: Children grow up to be more confident if they regularly play with other children. They can also learn to influence others.
- Accept change: Your child may change her mind often. So, if she wants to become an astronaut on Tuesday and a doctor on Friday, don’t frown. This is just her way of thinking and evaluating different situations and then coming to a tentative decision. In fact, children change their minds many times about many things, something you need to accept as a parent.
- Understand that money is not everything: Do not push your child towards careers only because they are high-earning. There is more to life than money.
- Accept that anything is possible: Each and every child is unique and the world today is more egalitarian and diverse than ever before. Today, almost anything is possible if you want it badly enough. Above all, do not discourage ambition in your child!
Some Do’s and Don’ts of Raising an Ambitious Child
There are certain pointers to keep in mind when trying to raise an ambitious child. These are:
- Love and accept your child unconditionally
- Keep your expectations high
- Do not expect perfection, but do look for integrity, generosity, and empathy
- Support your child’s passions and interests
- Do not compare your child to anyone else
- Praise your child when she has done better and shown beneficial skills
- Praise your child’s efforts as well as the achievement
- Show your child that no one wins all the time
- Encourage your child to strive and do better the next time
- Encourage your child to take control of her life
- Instil confidence in your child to deal with problems and take decisions
Besides these useful tips, there are other things that a parent can do to raise an ambitious child. You can take the lead as a parent; engage in authoritative (firm but loving) parenting; set goals; attune to your child’s interests; teach them to fail; help them chart progress, and help them pick up the phone and ask.
You should also find out what motivates your child and rather than reward them with extrinsic (external) rewards, you should encourage them to work intrinsically (make an effort due to the pleasure of performing a task). Research has shown that intrinsic motivation works better at encouraging excellence and ambition than extrinsic motivation.
At the Epistemo Vikas Leadership School, we encourage and nurture ambition in your child right from the time they are admitted to the school. Whether it be Academics, or then, Co-curricular activities, such as dramatics, music, dance, robotics, or entrepreneurship, we make sure that ambition is sparked in your child. At Epistemo, your child will discover herself and her ambition for varied subjects and activities.
If you want to raise an ambitious child, it is imperative that you choose the right school. That school is Epistemo. At Epistemo, your child will blossom and become an ambitious and empathetic person with a great deal of integrity, resilience, and purpose. So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with Epistemo today!