How do you get your children to be interested.

How can anyone be interested if he does not even know such a thing exists? For a child to be interested in anything, he must first see it, know the beauty of the thing, appreciate that beauty and is given the opportunity to try it. Without all those mentioned, the interest in anything cannot be ignited. It remains unknown, dormant, unrealised and impossible to appreciate.

Take an artist. He must know that there are pencils, brushes, charcoal or pieces of wood or stone. Then he must have a surface to make marks with them and realise he can create something of beauty with them. However, there must also be talent. Without talent he cannot create beauty. However, to discover that talent, he needs the opportunity to use the materials and through their use realise the inborn ability within him. When that realisation is reached, the desire to create is sufficiently great to bring about some form of accomplishment. And should there be appreciation from the parents, relatives and the public, then there is encouragement. Encouragement brings inspiration to greater achievement.

So it is the same with our children. A simple word for all the steps to bring out such possible talent is exposure. As parents, we could give our children as much exposure as possible to everything available in our world. Observe the interest shown by the child, encourage the interest and permit it to go to any level the child may want to climb. Make accessible all necessary materials; as much materials as is affordable. Then, leave the rest to the natural growth of the child's development.

All these might not bring great wealth financially, but the richness of his emotional, physical and mental development will suffice to make him a man of enthusiasm, the happiest and most satisfied, a developed adult who would have found his own niche and has forever a place in life, never worried that he has too much time on his hands, always interested in life. If that is not enough reason to strive to bring out the best in an individual, I don't know what is.