As a parent, it's your duty to not just take care of your children in the present but also plan for their bright future. It's a role that goes beyond just completing daily chores or attending to their needs. You willingly shoulder this responsibility with joy, as who wouldn't love to imagine their child's successful future? It's a beautiful dream to have for your little one.
Don't worry! You are not alone. This is the story of parents of all generations. In fact, parenting and worrying are inseparable, but here the question is what is a good future? The standard for a good future has been different in different generations of parents.
Our parents used to see our future as doctors or engineers. It was like a rule of thumb. But the technological revolution has changed the path of parents' dreams as well.
Now their dreams are revolving around technology. Somehow, most parents want to see their kids become the next Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Elon Musk. But the question is how to do that. Is it a matter of fate or can they help them out anyway?
They can't steal Bill Gates' brain or inject the genes of Elon Musk. That is clear. This headache of parents is paramount with the ever-evolving life's dilemmas, increasing shift in life's sphere, and changing parenting requirements.
So where do parents stand with their parenting requirements?
Parent's Perception of Path to Success — It is Not What You Think!
Besides dealing with the changing world scenarios, parents need to understand that they can't raise entrepreneurial kids following the path they followed themselves.
Getting an education from good institutes, doing internships, and searching for the best job might make you a good employee, but not an entrepreneur.
Even Gill Bates didn't complete his degree. So we know for sure that a degree doesn't give a surety of success, least entrepreneurship. Then what should parents do? That's a major concern because today's children are also dealing with different social, environmental, educational, and cultural challenges that put them in totally different spot-light as compared to the children of previous generations.
According to the UN, youth makes up 16% of the world's population, but they are bombarded with diverse challenges. That's where parents need to up their parenting game and understand how children are brought up so that they turn into stellar entrepreneurs.
Taking their weekly report from school, buying storybooks, and helping them complete their homework might not give the results you want. And believe me, your child also doesn't want to be bossed around. They also want to live an independent life without any 9 to 5 grind. You need to inculcate the confidence in them that kicks out their fear of failure and gives them the courage to take risks and dive deep into challenges no matter what.
Raising daring children who don't fear to take the next step — the step towards the final decision — when everyone else says they can't, they still take that life-changing step is the key to raising entrepreneurial kids who dare to dream.
But that's not the only ingredient that goes into the cauldron. There is a lot more that is required to make a potion for developing kids' minds that stand out.
Here are a few ways you can help them come out of their shell and shine brighter than your imagination:
1. Spending Productive Time
Search 'how to increase productivity' and you will find hundreds of resources explaining different ways to improve productivity at the workplace or in your life.
Living without productivity is just like you are sitting on a tortoise, hoping it will start running like a rabbit. Things don't work like this.
That's what you have to teach your children. You know time is money and if your child doesn't know the importance of spending time on the right things, they will never be able to achieve their goals.
For instance, if you need to reach somewhere at 8 pm, but you start getting ready at 7 PM. You suddenly recall adding a few pairs of shoes to your favorite eCommerce app's cart late last night. So you decide to finalize one and place the order for it. This activity takes 10 mins.
Then you think to take a shower but your phone rings. And it's your childhood buddy calling after ages and you can't miss this call. This tittle-tattle takes away another 20 mins of your time.
Half an hour is left. You look at the clock and run to take a shower. You look into the mirror and decide to shave. When you step out of the bathroom, 20 mins are gone. And now you are left with 10 mins and there is a long list of things you have to do. You can imagine where this story is going. Can you imagine this person succeeding with this laid-back attitude?
The same is happening with our kids. They have so many distracting things in the environment, from digital gadgets and peer groups to games, that it becomes difficult for them to save their legs from getting entrapped in such attention-grabbing things. That's where parents should play their active role!
Let's come to the agreeing point that our kids cannot leave their mobile, social media channels, and a surge of apps that are too attention-grabbing.
It is an alarming situation for most parents. But the good thing is that there are various apps in the market that can help parents monitor their children's mobile activities and restrict the usage of certain sites and apps.
2. Early Tech Education
Tech is the base for future entrepreneurship. The world is awash with startups and innovations, all of which revolve around technology. So isn't it better if we enroll them in early tech education classes than wait for them to get mature and older? Well, enrolling early doesn't mean sending them to Harvard or MIT, and starting early tech education will also not make them full-fledged programmers. But it will definitely spark a curiosity for technology and interest in exploring gadgets and their working.
Lately, you might have heard a lot about teaching coding to kids or the emergence of coding apps that can help make your kids the next Steve Jobs. Hearing about such things fascinates many parents, but unfortunately, it will not help them learn software development at an age when they are figuring out how to multiply three digits numbers.
Yes, it will definitely help them with many other soft and hard skills, helping them hit big once they reach an age where software development becomes their forte.
Unlike the popular perception, early tech education is not about making your child land a job in Microsoft, but it is definitely about helping your kids take their first step towards Silicon Valley — where the future lies.
In case you still don't understand why your child should get early education, these points might help you:
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Understand Abstract Maths principles
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Communication with computers
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Learn problem-solving skills
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Improve computational thinking
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Come up with creative ideas
I hope these points are potent enough to convince you to enroll your kid in early tech education so that when they come of age, they are ready to conquer their goals and dreams.
3. Work on Soft Skills
Unlike the popular perception, soft skills are equally important as hard skills. In fact, sometimes, a lack of soft skills can fail you. Yes, it can happen! For example, what if you are launching a startup, ideation is done, and you know it will be a hit – but there is a problem? You have to give a presentation to get funding but you are not a good presenter. Where do you think you would be standing? That's how important are soft skills for entrepreneurship. Work on these skills of your child!
- Give your children the confidence to take small decisions in their life
- Assign them a topic and ask them to present it in front of the whole family
- Let them participate in their school's activities
- Don't say 'no' right on their faces. It demotivates them and has a negative impact for a long time
- Build responsible behavior in them
- Give them an open floor environment but do keep a check on them subtly.
All these small changes in your parenting can become a big threshold to create an individual who would be firmly grounded on his grounds.
Start working on the soft skills of your child today if you want to make him tomorrow's successful entrepreneur.
4. Teach About Money
This is a difficult point because children only know about money as something that helps them buy anything they want. That's it! This is not the story of little munchkins. Even teens don't have a sense of it. The problem is you also cannot teach them the whole science behind the world of economy and all, but money is an important factor in building a business. That's true, so we can't leave them without telling them about money.
So start with small things, like how money works. Help them set up small businesses, like a stall or selling stationery items so that they can understand earning money is not a piece of cake or overnight magic.
It needs patience to start hitting big. Starting a small hustle helps them a lot when they start a real business.
Let them keep their money in their pocket and set small goals like how much money they should save at the end of the month. Let them spend their earned money to boost their morale.
You might also have to go through a bit of hassle, but that all will be worth it when you will see your child achieving goals. The fruit of hard work is always sweet!
5. Nurture a Business Mindset
Developing a business mindset in children is another important milestone that sets the base for an entrepreneurial kid who will know the nitty-gritty of the business. Let your children decide everything about the business. From developing an idea and mapping a one-page business plan to creating a roadmap and execution, let them do everything.
By taking the lead on these important steps, your child will learn the importance of taking ownership of their ideas and working hard to see them come to fruition. They will also develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and a deep understanding of what it takes to run a successful business.
It's important to remember that this process should be a collaborative one. Encourage your child to ask questions, seek advice, and bounce ideas off of you and other trusted adults. This will help them develop their own unique approach to business and give them the confidence to tackle new challenges.
That lemonade stall opened during the summer holidays can one day turn into the best juice in the market. You never know!
Final Thoughts
That's a huge debate about whether entrepreneurs are bestowed or made. But put aside this debate and instead of waiting to see how it turns out, isn't it better to start working on it when you have the right time and opportunities too? You can at least do your part of the work, i.e., developing entrepreneurial skills in your child, the rest is up to them which field they choose.
Raising children with an entrepreneurial mindset doesn't mean that now it is carved on the stone that your child will only become an entrepreneur. They can become whatever they want, but this at least increases the possibility of them succeeding in their journey if they choose to fulfill your dream of seeing another Steve Jobs right in your home. Why? Because they have the courage, mindset required skills, and know-how to hit big… hope they really do it!