The mind of a child.

One day he was arranging the chairs and stools of different sizes and height in a winding row so that he could climb up at one end, step from one stool to another or from one chair to another until he reached the other end which was approximately twenty chairs and stools away. Fortunately for him, his parents' house was big enough and possessing sufficient furniture to allow him to form a bridge from one part of the house to another.

The imagination of this child was indeed good. Another day, he would create a vehicle out of a computer table, enter it through an open door and have the maid push the vehicle so that it could move on its four small wheels.

A child sees a car and then he sees the vehicle in other furniture of objects in the house. He wants to be in the driver's seat and with that the dream of driving a car comes into existence.

And that is why parents who hope their children would one day be a doctor would buy them stethoscopes and dress them as doctors with the hope that their dreams will come true. Of course it would be easier if the child has a doctor as a father, especially one the child loves and is proud of. However, to foster the desire to be a doctor, children should support extracurricular activities such as St. John's or in Malaysia the Bulan Sabit Merah where they learn how to treat minor injuries. Of course, if the child is not academically inclined, he or she could end up as a nurse or an hospital assistant. But then, except for getting the child interested in reading and learning about science and gaining more knowledge, that is practically all that parents can do. The rest we leave to the child and his/her inclinations or life's destination or fate.

A lot of a child's future depends upon his/her interests and inclinations taking him/her to various directions which would eventually decide his/her future. Whatever it is, parents must allow the child to develop his mind as fast as is possible so that he will be ready when opportunity comes. Give him the chance to imagine, to think and to experience all that can be had. Provide him/her with such exposures to ideas, knowledge and things to help his/her mind to grow and form the foundation upon which his natural interests can given the impetus and motivation to reach their greatest potential.