How to Give Your Kids That Extra Edge over the Competition

No matter how much we may want our children to have a healthy balance of work and play, the bitter reality is that a simple school education is not enough for a person to succeed in today's competitive age. But that does not mean that we need to force our kids to apply themselves till they read a breaking point. What you can simply do is channel their energies into more productive areas. Earlier, parents would enrol their children in drawing, painting and music classes to give them an extra edge and to hone their creative self-expression. In the modern age, these pursuits have become redundant in the same way that board games and classic outdoor games have gone out of vogue. It is important to attract kids with an activity that would interest them and add value to their education at the same time. For example, if your child has an aptitude for painting or drawing, push them towards computer courses for kids that focus on these skills. They could take up animation and graphic design and still stay true to their passion while in fact training for a possible and lucrative future career. Most kids these days can effectively work a computer better than an adult so it should come as no surprise to you if your child picks up these skills rapidly.

Coding classes for kids is another fantastic way to leverage your child's creative skills and technical talent. A number of future jobs will require a functional knowledge of coding and this is assuming your child doesn't want to directly pursue programming as a career. Why is this relevant for kids? They naturally have an aptitude for computer and mobile software and games and this gives them a way of looking under the hood and creating something for themselves. But that's not all, it also teaches children to practically apply their knowledge and deal with the hiring process of trial and error. At the same time, it can also prove to be extremely motivating to the growing mind, the sheer joy of perfectly executing a piece of well-written code is unmatched. A number of institutes offer coding classes for students with the express purpose of giving children a head-start in the field and more and more parents are turning towards it as a great way for their children to learn and grow.

If you feel your child has a more entrepreneurial bent of mind, you could always get them to participate in a young entrepreneurs program. This is something that more and more schools are adding to their curriculum every day simply because the world is discovering that innovation and industry can literally begin at any age. These entrepreneurship programs not only teach children the tenets of business but also pushes them to practically apply it in their lives. This could be something as simple as having your own lemonade stand to something as advanced as building a business from scratch and running it over a period of time.

The bottom line is that you need to arm your kid with skills beyond pure academics. Find something that fits your child's interests and encourage them to pursue it.