My Child's Passion: How Can I Discover It?

Believe in your heart that you're meant to live a life full of passion, purpose, magic and miracles

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The word "Passion" doesn't define a person's interests only, but it also describes what brings infinite joy to that person's heart. I've always been passionate about children and everything related to them ever since I was a child myself. As a 3 year old, I wanted to become a daycare worker and although my career now is far from that, being around children is still my number 1 reason for happiness.

Passion isn't something that develops as we become adults, but it's present in our life since babyhood. Children have continuously changing interests but even though they don't realize it, their passion remains the same and unaffected by life circumstances. You may ask here two main questions:

1. If a person's passion is the same since babyhood, why does my child's interest differ from time to time?

2. And if that's true again, how can I discover it and help my child to seek his passion?

To answer the first question, I want you to list down your child's interests and group them according to the following questions:

1. How many of these interests are activities you added to his/her routine?

2. How many of these interests are things his/her friends encourage them to have?

3. How many of these interests are activities he/she does regularly without the need of someone else to encourage it?

Children are easily influenced by their surroundings and most of their interests are collected from others around them. Normally, the first two groups will be the dominants, while it'll be hard to find interests that suit the third group which defines what having a passion means. As adults, the influence of others on us becomes less and less and that's how we end up discovering our passion. However, as far as children are concerned, not all of their interests can be listed under the title of "passion" but are indeed mostly fleeting and suggested by others.

If my child's passion is so well concealed, how can I discover it then? The following are tips suggested by experts that may help you discover your child's real passion and nourish it:

OBSERVE

Simply watch your children very closely during activities they're doing. If they're passionate about it, they're more likely to be totally absorbed into it for hours. A child whose passion is reading will lose himself inside a book and be unaware of what's happening around him.

PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT

If you notice that your child is having interest in something, try to provide encouragement as much as possible. Start slow and small because you don't want to change an interest into a homework. Just because your daughter likes art doesn't mean that you have to buy her professional equipmens and make her practice six hours a day.

ASK QUESTIONS

Children are mostly honest when talking about their feelings or when their opinions are asked on something. Try to have more conversations with your children, ask them questions and seek their opinions. "If you notice that your child has a new area of interest, ask him what it is that specifically fascinates him about this topic.

Learning what's at the root of your child's passion can help you direct him to similar activities he may enjoy, too."

It's not always easy to know how our children think or what they truly love to do but as parents it's our job to provide a strong support system to them. By learning about their passions we're more likely to build strong bonds with them and create unforgettable memories. In the journey of discovering your child's passion remember to acknowledge their mental and physical limits. "While you might feel the urge to see your kiddo as a prodigy and push for more lessons, practice or competitions, this is a sure-fire path to burnout and resentment". Passion is love not pressure.