Ok. That makes sense to me, for I have the tendency to be complacent as a parent of a young boy who has proven to be brilliant in a lot of ways. I tend to think that I don't need to do much to help in his development. Wrong! Very wrong. For genius or normal, there are some things that people are never born with. Case in point? The patience in learning something new.
Thought of this today after playing with clictoys - sort of like lego blocks, only that they are flat and more difficult to hinge together. We bought this for his birthday because we've seen him enjoy tinkering with the one owned by a playmate. But then today, I learned that what he loves to do with it is to build stuff based on his imagination. This one he made below is his idea of a camera.
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| camera (?) |
I say this is very imaginative, yes. And an adventurous mind is definitely important when it comes to innovation. But, it's also equally important that one learns how to follow steps prescribed by others. And this is where our son falls short.
We challenged him to do this airplane model today, and I'd say this afternoon was a real test of patience, not just for the boy, but for the teaching parents.
We challenged him to do this airplane model today, and I'd say this afternoon was a real test of patience, not just for the boy, but for the teaching parents.
Maybe this is piece of cake for other kids. But for my boy, it felt like the end of the world. There was hardly a moment when he didn't heave a sigh, shed a tear or two, or throw a block. And each time, mum and dad would say it's ok, offer him some strategies, and ask him to redo this or that. I told him to say to himself, "I will learn this,"rather than, "I can't do this." 2 naps later (mum and dad had to take turns), we were able to build this:
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| It wasn't exactly a fireworks moment for him after that. But it's a start. |
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| Someday, he'll learn to value the work of patience - that's if his parents will stay patient in teaching him that. |
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