Seated beside Craig was a 19-year-old pharmaceutical executive. The young man had already completed a master's degree and PhD, and he spoke of how he had scored high on an I.Q. test when he was in the third grade. Since then, parents, teachers and media had all told him he was "gifted."
The host of the show turned to Craig. "Are you gifted?"
"Nope!" he replied.
Craig left the interview with that question on his mind. There was no doubt the teenaged whiz beside him was gifted. But, when he stopped to think about the other people in his life, he realized they were gifted, too. Every day he met young people who were using their skills in art, design, sports, anything to help make a difference.
This quick look made Craig realize that everyone has something to offer. It's only society that limits the definition of "gifted" to those who stand out in academics or sports. These are incredible areas for kids to excel in, but when we broaden the definition and encourage kids to share all of their individual talents with the world, the possibilities to boost their self-confidence and create change are endless.
We boil this down to an equation: Issue + Gift = Better World. Most of us are aware of the old MBA=BMW truism, but we at Free The Children think the former equation adds up to something much better – and parents are crucial to helping it along.
The first part of this equation involves helping your kid find an issue they are passionate about. This can be something that sparks their interest, something they saw as wrong and decided they needed to do something about. Any parent can encourage this by discussing headlines, pointing out things of interest and helping their child stop, look and listen to what's happening around them.
Page 1 of 2 – Craig and Marc's tips for parents on page 2.
