12/05/2021
A psychologist says parents of ‘exceptionally resilient and successful’ kids always do these 7 things: ‘Yes, some are a little intense’
Dr. Kumar Mehta, Ph.D
In my five-plus years of studying how to raise exceptional adults, I’ve found that almost all of them, at a young age, developed the skills to maximize the physical, mental and social potential available to them. In most cases, their parents had an enormous impact in creating an environment that allowed them to thrive.
Based on research and studies, here are seven things (yes, some are a little intense) that parents of exceptionally resilient and successful kids always do:
1. They push their kids to play to their strengths
🧠Every child is born with more advanced skills in some areas over others.
2. They demonstrate the link between hard work and extraordinary outcomes
🧠Parents of exceptional kids model this by devoting years of their lives to getting better at their craft — and they make sure that their kids are paying attention.
3. They create a culture of striving and excellence
🧠The researchers found that the majority of ultra elite athletes came from environments that advocated a culture of striving. They grew up in homes where pursuing excellence and pushing the boundaries were always expected, not merely desired.
4. They encourage self-confidence
🧠When parents encourage self-confidence (instead of criticizing their kids and putting them down each time they fail at something), their kids are more likely to perform at the highest level and adopt the mindset that they will eventually rise to the top.
5. They are patient when their kids ask questions
🧠Parents of the most accomplished people always make learning new things a priority. And because they teach their kids to embrace curiosity, one thing they take very seriously is answering questions.
6. They promote ‘early specialization’
🧠Parents often face the question of whether they should take the “specialist” approach and encourage their children to specialize in an activity that they show high potential in, or take the “generalist” approach and expose them to many different things (e.g., baseball, soccer, piano, math club) to help them become well-rounded.
7. They encourage competition and improvement
🧠Being competitive from an early age, even in small activities like board games or who can clean their room the fastest, exposed them to the stress and pressure that was required for them to win later in life.
But parents must also taught that they should not place value on just competition and results, that being exceptional is more than just keeping score. If you solely fixate on results, and not improvement, then you’re less likely to master your field.‼️
