5 ways for parents to nurture their children's talents

An article by Kenneth A. Kiewra, professor of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (USA), on The Conversation reveals how to raise talented children.

Some people think talent is inborn. Mozart was playing the piano at age 3 and composing at age 5 - a commonly heard story that reinforces this view.

But you probably don't know the rest of the story: Mozart's father was a talented musician, composer, and music educator. He devoted himself to teaching his son, encouraging him to practice diligently to achieve perfection.

Even with such a good foundation, it was not until his early twenties, after 15 years of arduous practice, that Mozart created his first masterpiece, making his mark in musical history.

In my argument, talent is not born but made, and it is the parents who can make a huge difference to the child.

After studying top achievers in six fields, psychologist Benjamin Bloom also stated: "Whatever one person in the world can learn, most people can learn, if given the right learning conditions."

He identifies five specific conditions: early start, expert guidance, deliberate practice, a network of potential factors, and single-mindedness.

Children cannot activate and develop these talent factors on their own. Instead, they need to be guided by a talent manager, usually a parent, to become a prodigy in a particular field.

1. Start early

Talent seeds are often planted early at home. One study found that 22 out of 24 talented performers, from chess players to figure skaters, were introduced to the field by their parents, usually between the ages of 2 and 5. Parents may even be experts and play a coaching role. National volleyball coach John Cook, for example, raised volleyball star Lauren Cook.

"I think my daughter has an advantage because of her dad's job. She's always been exposed to volleyball. When she was little, we created a little court in the basement and we would play volleyball on our knees," Cook said.

Other parents don’t work in their child’s talent area, but can provide a nurturing environment early on. That was the case with Adora Svitak (born 1997), a young writer who published two books by age 11. She has traveled the world giving hundreds of speeches, including a TED Talk.

Adora's parents, John and Joyce, were not writers or speakers, but they set the stage for her success. Every night, the couple spent more than an hour reading interesting and engaging books to their daughter. "Reading helped shape Adora's love of learning and reading," Joyce said.

In addition, they encouraged Adora's early writing, offered advice, helped her publish her book, and arranged speaking engagements. Joyce eventually quit her job to become Adora's full-time manager.

2. Professional guidance

Many parents of gifted children have gone to great lengths to help their children achieve their current success. Chess grandmaster Kayden Troff learned to play chess at the age of three while watching his father, Dan, play with his older siblings.

With few chess opportunities around their Utah home, Dan took on the task of coaching his son, spending 10-15 hours a week during his lunch breaks and after work studying the game.

Dan read books, watched videos, and studied great games, creating a book of specialized lessons to guide Kayden through his nightly training sessions. Eventually, when he could no longer keep up with Kayden’s learning pace, Dan arranged for Kayden to take lessons online from chess grandmasters for $300 a month.

3. Deliberate practice

For talented people, practice is often intentional, goal-oriented, and out of their comfort zone.

High school student Caroline Thiel described her journey to becoming a national swimming champion: "Some days, you're so tired during practice. Your whole body aches, and it's hard to find motivation. Your brain shuts down, but your body still goes through muscle aches, heavy breathing, and nausea. People don't realize how hard swimmers work; they think we just jump in the pool and swim a few laps."

4. Potential factor network

When I asked Jayde Atkins, a national high school rodeo champion, about her reasons for success, she said, "Looking at everything I have, it's obvious I should be great."

Jayde grew up on a horse farm in Nebraska and started riding at age 2. Her parents, Sonya and JB, are professional riders and trainers. They taught her how to hold a rein and practiced with her for hours every day.

The Atkins family had well-bred horses and a large trailer to transport them to nearby towns for Jayde’s rodeo competitions, so the family farm was the perfect setting, providing the elements that allowed Jayda’s talent to flourish naturally.

5. Single purpose

One parent shared with me that letting their child focus on chess had sacrificed many other joys and activities. "He wasn't interested in studying, he just loved chess. We threw away the chess set because his academic results were so poor, but we saw that he was extremely miserable," this parent said. After all, they still wanted to see the joy and satisfaction on their child's face when pursuing his passion.

Parents of gifted children often support their child’s single-minded pursuit. But sometimes they support more than one passion. For example, McKenzie Steiner was a promising softball player and rising country music star. Her father, Scott, was her longtime softball coach, spending thousands of hours a year practicing the sport with McKenzie, while also serving as a publicist and manager for his daughter’s country band.

While each case has its own story, the parents I spoke to shared the common view that children need to steer the ship of talent with passion and hard work, and parents just help keep the ship on track.