The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt
If you scored low in “Spiritual” category in Financial IQ Test for Parents, please check the activities below!
Top 3 things you could do with your kid right now
1. Help your kid discover his passion in life
Most probably you know your kid very well – even better than he knows himself. Therefore, it is your responsibility to encourage him to use his strengths and find his passion in life as early as possible.
Ask the following questions:
Question | Comment |
What would you do right now if you are free to choose? | The younger the kid, the more freedom he has to do what he wants. Pay attention to what he likes to do most and say that out loud. E.g. “I see that you are fond of drawing.” or “I see that you really enjoy building the bridge from LEGO”, etc. |
When do you feel very energetic? | Again, you might need to observe your kid for a while and let him understand when he is engaged in the activity at hand. Tell him when you notice that he is exceptionally energetic. E.g. “It seems that you are fully engaged when you read this book.” or “You are so energetic when you play football!” |
When does the time flies? | You might need to help him understand when the time really flies. E.g. “Have you noticed that 2 hours have passed while you were creating this game?” |
What are you really good at? | You might want to compare your kid with others. Even though comparison is not something that contemporary parents are fond of, I would suggest that you outline what your kid is really great at. Otherwise, he might never find that out. E.g. Tell him that he is better at maths than the other kids. |
Let your kid regularly remember his talents and passions – he would be much happier (and richer!) in life if he continues building on his strengths.
2. Set the goals with your kid
Help your kid to set goals. Ask the following questions:
- What is 1 thing you want to get better at?
- What is 1 new thing you want to try?
- What is 1 thing you want to learn about?
- What 1 thing would you like to have?
Encourage your kid to dream big – goals should be exciting and risky! And definitely they should be in her discomfort zone.
The second question in when your kid wants to achieve that.
The younger the kid, the shorter the time period should be. If you talk to 4-years-old, one week to one month is the best time period for goal setting. If you talk to 10-years-old, annual goals is what you should aim for.
For 12-years-old and older you could talk about the future in 3 or 5 years.
3. Make a dream journal
People think in pictures, not in words. Therefore, if I asked you to imagine a house, you would not imagine letters H-O-U-S-E. You would imagine a specific house. Is it big or small? How many storeys does it have? What color is it? Are windows big or small?
Therefore, in order to set our unconsciousness for goal achievement, make a dream journal together with your kid. Take some old magazines and cut out the pictures that have direct link to your kid’s goals. Now, you can:
- put those pictures near kid’s bed, so that she could see them regularly or
- you could stick them to the piggy bank(s) where your kid saves for a specific goal.
Do you want to test how good you are at teaching other areas of financial freedom? Take the Financial IQ Test for Parents now!