Inventory Time

One of the duties as a parent is to put your child on a path that will lead them to a career that will provide them with a good income but more importantly, allow them to live their passion. Many parents sabotage the fulfillment of this vision by involving the child in activities that don’t match their personalities or strengths.

Here’s an example, my son has a boy on his soccer team that has two left feet and is very slow. No, I’m not being harsh I'm only trying to illustrate a point. Perhaps the athletic gene skipped him but he's more academic or maybe he's a combination of the two. Instead of dragging him to soccer practice 2 nights a week for 4 hours then spending the majority of 11 weekends traveling to soccer fields on the other side of yonder, why don’t the parents recognize he is not designed to play soccer, which requires speed, quickness and agility. Why not put him in swimming, baseball, golf or the debate club? Look at all the hours being devoted to practicing and playing a sport in which he will never enjoy a meaningful level of success. The results of this will be a loss of confidence in himself, no sense of accomplishment, a waste of time and money.

A better strategy would be to take an inventory of him. I did this with my son. I made a list of his strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Of course I removed some things from the list as he got older (climbing trees) and added some (gentle personality that is magnetic), but the inventory list became my road map into knowing who he is as a person and it allowed my finite resources of time and money to be spent on activities in which he could find accomplishment and confidence. It was my inventory list that reminded me my son couldn’t dribble a ball, catch or hit a baseball and he certainly didn't have the mindset to put on a helmet and pads and run full speed into another kid. Hence, we never spent one dime or one second trying baseball, football or basketball. He has an aptitude for soccer so that’s where our time and money is focused and the payoff looks like it will be a college offering him a scholarship to play soccer.

It’s not too late to start taking inventory. If your child is nearing the teen years or in their teens, sit down and think about what activities they enjoy, dislike, are they curious, talkative, athletic or anything else you can think of.

I’m not telling you this is an exact science that will guarantee success and good times but I do know it’s a small investment of time and attentiveness and it will place your child on a path that will allow your child to accentuate their strengths, acknowledge their weaknesses, know their passion, and make a good income. As a mother, father or parent, to do this for your child will illustrate an unbound love and fill your breast with pride.