MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Founders of Brain Secrets, Muscat residents Dishita Muliya and Binal Kanabar are trying to make a difference in every individual’s life that they meet. They will take turns to write.

Same sapling, same nourishment, same soil, same year of sowing, same ecology, same weather conditions, same view... . But then why is it that tree on the right bears more red berries than the one on the left or vice versa?

Don’t we get to see such similar situations in schools and at home...if we just replace the trees with students, and then let’s say same school, same teachers, same class, same fees, same books, same lectures and exactly same examinations. Now let’s replace the red berries with marks or performance. As we all know the beauty of Mother Nature - some may be good, some may be better while some may need a little more time than the rest to grow.

Every parent is aiming for their child’s success, be at school, game or life. But I ask the parents to sit back, with a pen and paper, ask themselves these questions

Are we as parents aware of our child’s real strengths and potentials?

What are they really passionate about? Are we pressurising them to get into an

educational field of our choice over theirs? What is that he/she enjoys after school –

sports, music, language or art? How does my child study? Is that the best

practice for him/her? Do we listen to our child enough? Do we parents, follow what we preach? If you have more than one child – are you unknowingly setting benchmarks for them based on how the other is doing?

Will I be open to accepting my child if he/she decides to pursue an unconventional career path?

Is there a need for my child to see a career counsellor before he/she makes a lifetime decision?

These questions may seem extremely general at a surface level but try to write answers to these and you’ll be amazed to un

THE GENIUS IN ALL OF US

derstand that merely knowing your child’s favourite food, books, team, TV shows and best friend isn’t enough to help them excel.

It’s alright if your child doesn’t ace his/her maths or history class; perhaps if you have a look at their artistic or music skills, you may witness immense happiness and excitement in them while they are closely associated with their inborn talents.

Let us consciously stop making any kind of comparisons between siblings, friends, classmates or even someone walking on the street.

Don’t make it a rat race for them, I’m sure none of us want to be on it either as adults. Let your child remain unique in their own way and help them find out what are they truly gifted with and let them bloom like never before because there is a genius in all of us!

Please remember, amongst all the students appearing for the exams, there is a musician whose chemistry marks wouldn’t matter.