Finding Your Child's Passion :))

The other night I watched a docudrama about Jean-Francois Champollion the French Scholar Linguist who was the first person to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics. Even as a child of eleven Champollion had dreams of visiting Egypt and discovering the secrets of the ancient Egyptian writings.

I was thinking as I watched the program how dedicated Champollion was to his goal and the white hot passion he would have had to have to keep the dream alive for so many years. Sadly, Champollion died in his early forties but his dream to visit Egypt came to fruition. He was known as the Father of Egyptology and is best known for deciphering the Rosetta Stone.

In most cases as a child ages he starts to lose passion for the things he loves. We as parents and caregivers need to ask ourselves what we can do to keep that passion burning in our children's hearts and minds? Maybe not to the extent of Champillion but research from the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of "Flow" finds a direct link between passionate interest and true happiness. So it is important to help keep your child's dreams alive.

Watch your child when he is playing. See what he is drawn to and what makes him happy, keep in mind these will change as he gets older. Try exposing him to different cultures, museums, art, sports and other activities. Look at your child's strengths and interests. Let your child be an individual by not making him participate in the same activities that his siblings are involved in, unless he really shows enthusiasm for it.

Finally, it is very important not to impose your dreams on your children for that is a sure fire way for them to lose interest