COGWA Members App
Feast App
ROKU AppHelp Your Child Discover Talents and Aptitudes
Written by Larry W. Greider
Finding a meaningful job that is satisfying and stimulating is ideal. After years of education, our children will spend the rest of their lives making a living. How can we help them avoid ending up with dead-end jobs that they find demeaning or boring?
Parents would love to help launch their children into careers that fit their personalities and talents. Though the ultimate responsibility is on our children to learn about and choose careers, using a little observation and guidance, parents can help them avoid spending hours a day doing what they hate or feeling bored and trapped in jobs that don’t suit their skills or talents.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
How do people discover what they want to do in life? There are many different ways, most involving observation and exploration. Some young people see a teacher, farmer, dentist or fireman and decide that is the career for them.
I was reading a book about John O’Neill who worked most of his life as a counterterror expert and FBI agent (The Man Who Warned America by Murray Weiss, 2003). After retiring, he became the director of security at the World Trade Center just months before it was attacked by extremists. He lost his life along with 2,822 others on that fateful, tragic day on Sept. 11, 2001.
But I found it fascinating that O’Neill had decided very early in his life he was going to work for the FBI, which he did for 31years. His motivation came, when he was just a child, from watching a hit TV series The FBI, which featured the calm agent Lewis Erskine, played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. He was so eager to watch the weekly episodes that he scheduled his activities around the airing.
Providing children with a wide variety of experiences and exposure to people who do different kinds of work can broaden their horizons. Though O’Neill found his lifework on TV, we wouldn’t want to limit our children to the careers depicted on the tube!
Discovering aptitudes
While most children have many passing interests and hobbies, there usually are signs of natural aptitudes and talents that could be encouraged at an early age. While new technologies change the types of careers available, if your children are aware of their skill sets and interests, they can have a head start when entering the workforce.
Exposing your children to all types of endeavors—such as crafts, sports, group activities and reading—can help you and them identify certain proclivities that can develop into successful careers. Interests and aptitudes are often the signs of natural abilities that could be developed into career fields.
My two brothers and I worked in my father’s machine shop while growing up, and it was obvious that we didn’t all have the same aptitude for the precise and tedious workmanship necessary for some of the projects he specialized in. My father was wise enough to let us find work to do that we enjoyed and were better at doing. (Not working was not an option.)
My two sons are very different in their passions and talents. One can build a computer almost blindfolded, and the other can sell ice to an Eskimo. Finding what children enjoy and helping them develop talents and skills to complement those interests can start very early—and parents can help.
- Choose toys that actively engage the child. The old saying, “The play should be in the child and not in the toy,” is a good one to follow. If all they do is turn something on and watch it, their attention won’t last any longer than the batteries.
- Encourage discovery and innovation.
- Make sure they are readers.
- Ask questions that can reveal interests and aptitudes.
Testing for skills and talents can be rewarding. Some aptitude tests are free and available online. Here’s a site with links to many tests: “50 Free Career Aptitude Tests That Everyone Should Take.” If you have the time, why not check this out for your children?
There are also more detailed tests that charge fees. You might want to check with your school counselor for suggestions.
Be sure to encourage your child to take advantage of any career exploration resources available at school and through the library.
A challenge and adventure
All children are different and have potentials waiting to be discovered. The challenge for parents is to provide a learning environment and encourage discovery of innate aptitudes and talents that can lead to rich and rewarding career opportunities for their children.
I remember reading a story about an English child who could speak Chinese at age 4. The author mentioned that what was remarkable wasn’t as much the precociousness of the child, but rather the talent and effort of the parents who taught their child a second language.
Working with our children is an awesome challenge and often quite an adventure. Helping them value their talents could be one of the most important contributions parents can make.
Larry Greider is a church pastor in northern Florida and proud grandfather of six grandkids.
Other posts by Larry Greider:
