Being a parent is the greatest gift of life.

What would most parents wish for their children?

If we ask you this question, answers naturally coming to your mind would be – health, happiness, moral values, education, a comfortable life and so on.

But, on the contrary, when it comes to children’s future, most parents in India rank professional success more important than a happy life, while in China being healthy is the number one priority and happiness comes out top in the U.S. - Source

Shocking? Isn’t it? More hard hitting truths yet to come!

On the top of that, Indian parents have very high expectations about their children’s education and careers with 51% of Indian parents having the most important goal is to build successful careers in their children’s adult life. - TOI

No wonder why, every year, lakhs of students end up making bad career choices under pressure from their parents and choose subjects they think are important to success in life rather than what they are passionate about and where their inherent interest and aptitude fit.

A generation ago, career choices in India were limited. So, at that time, it made sense to choose from what is available and compromise one’s interests and capabilities. But now, there are tons of courses available apart from engineering, medical and management, and a child can make a career in any field s/he chooses, such as, musician, YouTuber, sportsperson, tattoo artist, pet groomer, food flavorist, to name a few. It means, it is possible for every child to work what they absolutely love.

Unfortunately, Indian parents are still obsessed their children to study engineering (23%), business management (22%), computer and information science (16%), medicine (14%) and law (2%).

When we talk about choosing a career, parents can be often seen to give all kinds of awful advice, suggestions, and logic, like:

A job is a job.

No matter whatever you choose, you will get bored of it after a few years.

Choose a safe path.

Choose a career that gives the most money.

Choose a prestigious career.

Every child is unique and is born with a certain amount of intelligence, innate capabilities, strengths, passions, and hidden talents.

Isn’t it crazy that parents burden their children with high expectations and dreams?

There is nothing wrong in aspiring high for your child, but at the same time, it is essential to recognize that your child is unique is his/her ambition, desires, and goals. Therefore, being a responsible parent, let them choose a career and help nurture your child's real interest.

How can your shape dreams and passion of your child to choose them a suitable career? Read below to know.

Discover your child's talent

Every child is gifted in a particular field which parents can cultivate to shape the future of the child. However, it often becomes challenging to get an idea of a child’s area of interest and true talents, especially at an early age.

How to find your child’s talent?

Find your child’s talent with Aviva’s Kidoscope – a unique platform for parents to help their children unleash their true potential. It is similar to a child intelligence test that helps parents understand their kids better with scientific assessments for different age groups. It enables parents to:

• Determines their child’s strength and ability inclinations
• Assess a child’s cognitive abilities and learning styles
• Details out child’s interest and aptitude orientation
• Career suggestions based on the child’s interest, aptitude, and mindset orientation

Avoid burdening your child with your dreams

Parents often treat their children as an extension of themselves. So, naturally, parents start to expecting their children to fulfill their unfulfilled dreams and aspirations. Your child is unique and s/he has right to choose a certain job they like. Stop convincing your child to pursue a career path of your choice or tell them to avoid a specific career alternative just because it doesn’t interest you.

Stock sufficient for your child’s dream

How would you help your child to fulfill their dream is s/he wishes to launch his/her startup after 20 years from now?

It is only possible when you have foolproof financial planning according to the dreams and aspirations of your child.

Once you know what your child aspire to become, it is your responsibility to stock sufficient money required to fulfill them. Take help of Kidoscope to get:

• Personalized advise in the form of written by experts, videos, weekly planners, customized list of talent classes and events, based on your child’s assessment results
• With education cost calculator, calculate the current and future cost of your child’s dream profession and helps you understand the monthly and annual investments required to achieve that goal

Understand your role as a parent

The role of parents extends beyond than fulfilling just the essential living requirements of the child. Be a role model for your child and set a great example before them. As a parent, you play the most important role in shaping their future. Encourage them to navigate their career path, support them while taking tough decisions in life.

This children’s day, celebrate your child’s uniqueness, talent, ability, and strength and let them choose a career of their choice. Allow them to grow independently, and explore all options and fields to choose the best. Nurture their skills, give wings to their dreams and let them ascent high in the career fields of their choice.

Oct 58/18 

Talk to an Expert