Ingrid Campbell White shares her views on how to encourage your children to do their best to prepare themselves for any situation.
"How To Encourage Your Children To Think Outside the Box"
By Ingrid Campbell White
In this journey as a mother, author, mentor, etc. I have found out a lot more about myself than I ever thought possible. I mean I like things to be nice, organize and perfect. When my children were younger I had built a routine around my kids but here is a little of what I have learned from my research: Everyone is designed with all eight Intelligences, eight “Smarts.” We all have different natural strengths with the “smarts” but everyone has all eight and all eight can be awakened in each of us through time and activities. Taking the time to understand the strengths and potential weaknesses of each will help you to identify them in your kids, yourself and other children too. From there you can grow and engage with these smarts in more intentional and empowering ways.
We need people who will think outside the box for new solutions to problems. We can get our kids involved in different academic programs, take advantage of tutoring, mentorship programs, etc. For children thinking outside the box starts at home, at school or church; wherever a child can have the opportunity to learn, be challenged, etc. With the help from their parents/parent mindset. Encouraging your children to think outside the box would allow your children to step out of their normal routines. As parents sometimes we need to leave all our experiences, mindsets and attitudes behind and out of the equation, start to view things from a completely different perspective: outside of the box; unfiltered, unbiased, open for suggestions, willing to empathize with others opinions, but also ready to swim against the flood. It also means that you leave everything behind you or what you thought you knew, everything that was taught to you and allow your child to develop the things that he/she will enjoy. It forces us to start approaching specific situations from a completely different point of view than we did before.
As I mentored this wonderful child in a STEM program, I gave her the opportunity to tell me some of the things she liked about science, technology, engineering and math. I wanted to get familiar with her definition of STEM, etc. She shared with me about her experience with science and math and why she decided to join the online program. Her mom allowed her to attend a robotic camp over the summer that she enjoyed. She never knew that girls(females) were astronauts too. With this robotic camp it was totally different from any camp she attended in the past. Many kids are already excited about technology, with having iPad, games, computers, etc. We must continue with giving them the opportunity to explore and learn as much as possible and raise the next amazing professionals.
Be open to allowing our children to make some small decisions if it’s something that can help in their learning and individual thought process. Teach what interest them and not always what we think they should learn. Have them start a list and write down everything that's exciting, fun, and interesting. That’s a great starting point to having our children think outside the box.