Every child is different and so are his skills. Some kids excel in math while some are a pro at English vocabulary. Some kids lag behind in academics but hold great creative skills as drawing, painting, singing and many others.
But you can certainly not let your child grow with mastering just one skill. Most parents feel that a child can’t be good at multiple things and they often end up limiting his potentials. Experts lay great stress on ‘Multiple Intelligence’, which is about mastering multiple skills.
According to Howard Gardner, American developmental psychologist, intelligence is not just dependent on ones verbal and math skills. His Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory proposes that there exist other measures of intelligence beside these two. It states that every individual has all intelligence skills, the only difference being some skills are more developed than others. ‘Multiple intelligence’ is all about developing the other subsided skills.
The following points will help you strengthen your child’s multiple intelligence which will ensure a successful life ahead.
1. Use your child's strengths to overcome his weakness
This one is very vital and prominent. If your child loves to play around and is very good at sports but at the same time he doesn’t enjoy art & craft activities as much, you can try and involve him in arts in a kinesthetic way. This way, your child will take interest in the activity and make efforts to do it in an effective manner. If your kid is good at reading but fails to memorize spellings & new words, you can make use of his reading habit to help him learn more of spelling and words. Let him read out the spellings aloud or make him spell each word loud and clear.
2. Take care of his diet & nutrition, it affects his mental health
Proper nutrition not just helps your child’s physical growth but even aids his mental stability. You will have to take great care of your child’s diet so that his mind develops in the right manner. Green veggies, pulses, foods rich in high protein and fruits must be a part of his everyday diet. If you aren’t sure about the right diet plan, you must seek expert advice.
3. You need to balance his growth & activity
You want your child to excel in every field and come out with flying colors. But while doing so, do make sure that you aren’t pushing his limits too much. There should be a healthy balance maintained between your child’s growth and the activity you engage him in. Don’t overburden him with things or expectations. Let him take up tasks that he can handle without your help and do with ease.
4. Positive support is very important
You will have to fill him with positivity and strengthen his mind in a positive manner. Even if he lacks the needed skills, never let him feel that he can’t accomplish anything or he can never learn that particular skill. Keep motivating him and lay stress on putting efforts rather than focusing on the end results. When you will encourage him to focus on his efforts, the end result will apparently turn out to be the best.
5. Never criticize or compare his skills with others
If you follow the right guidelines, your child will definitely learn the skills but it’s not necessary that he will excel in the same. He may have some shortcomings. However, you should never make him feel low about the same as it can affect his self-esteem. Never criticize or compare his skills with other kids, appreciate the things he does and always encourage him to strive for betterment.
6. Appreciate his efforts
Irrespective of the fact whether your child masters the skills or not, do praise his efforts. For instance, if your child is not very keen about taking part in sport activities but he still participates in a race but loses it, praise him for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying a new thing. Teach him that genuine efforts are always important than the final results. Success and failure are all about numbers, the real thing that matters is the effort put in achieving the goals.
7. Model a multi-tasking behavior
Your kids will always feel encouraged if they see you multi-tasking. You will have to model a behavior which is open to learning new skills and exploring ones potential. If you are not a pro at drawing or art activities, make it a point to indulge in some drawing or coloring activity with your kids. When you do so, your child will be motivated and will never shy away from pushing his limits and dabbling at new skills.
Your child developing multiple intelligence totally depends on how you encourage and motivate him about learning new skills. Make sure you stick by the given tips!