Parenting With A Difference 101: Who are the major stakeholders of your child's career choice? (II)

As stated in the conclusion of the first part, passion and drive will be at the centre of this write-up.

As a reminder, this piece is about you (as a parent) and the many people who form the cluster that can guide your children towards specific careers and how they can have dreams from a young age and be able to follow through and achieve the same.

Prestige is not nearly enough to grant satisfaction and fulfilment of purpose. There are countless professionals in the not-so-prestigious professions whose financial muscles are bigger and better than those of the hyped ones.

There are instances where the child in question can even pursue two or more professions—especially, those who want to engage in sport, acting, artisanship etc.

They could train to acquire both or more simultaneously. Then later decide on which one can give them the satisfaction they need and/or deserve. So often people come out school and don't practice the fields they spent a chunk of their life studying.

It’s simply because they don't have the passion for it and so are not driven much as they should. Do anything but discourage your child from pursuing his/her passion, use what s/he likes to get what you want. Be strategic, strike balance, put conditions on the table, for example if you want to do this, then you got to do A, B, C and I support you all the way.

As a matter of fact personality counts a lot in what the child even becomes.

There are professions that are viewed as not so prestigious, however, some of its practitioners are living large.

Indeed larger than those in the bracket of prestige professions we know. We live in an age where things have evolved really fast and to be able to genuinely make it, you have to think outside the box.

Quite a number of people are not necessarily working hard and tiring and stressing, they are working smart and making it big in less stress ambiance of their homes or preferred locations. Lots and lots of previously unknown professions have come up due to advancement in technology.

One major ingredient which is catalyst for rewarding career is passion. Bottom-line is pursuing any goal or dream is tasking, be it self-imposed or compelled.

Its burden is however, lessened a bit when you have the buy-in of the protagonist - in this case your child. They are ready to do whatever it takes if they are naturally driven to attain the goal.

Parents should consider dependability, employability, marketability, profitability, in our part of the world jobs are not readily available, you have to position yourself well. Parents focus on skills, skills and skills the good thing about the reading subjects and humanities is it can be done on even self-thought bases.

In the choice of SHS program TVET schools should be at forefront of our consideration.

We make children spend time reading and memorising stuff which are skewed or factually inaccurate and half-baked solutions, which we are not able to implement or apply to fix basic problems that confront us is most unfortunate.

African intellectuals you cannot throw your hands up in frustration on this one. You have to deal with this comprehensively to save the upcoming generations from imbibing sometimes false, skewed and downright irrelevant information.

This is not fit for purpose, it thus far not helping to affect the hearts and minds that turn the fortunes of this great continent of ours. If there is one thing that cannot be easily colonized it is skills so our educational systems across African should be focus on skills training as that intelligentsia work to fix counterproductive indoctrinations and remnants colonial educational policies that are still bedevilling us.

In the meantime, parents and guardians let us make skills learning number one on our priority list, because the good thing is they can blind it with the reading subjects if need be.

Whereas, a child can come out of our traditional school system with no certificate and the totally unfair declaration of him/her being good for nothing, that follows such unfortunate occurrences.

It is very unlikely that after a while of skills learning one would come out with nothing. The language barrier is making a lot of our otherwise sharp minds fall off the educational train.

The mere fact that a child can't read and express his/her thoughts in English doesn't make him/her any less intelligent.

In skills training, even when a child drops out, does so with something they can make ends meet with given the right direction and support.

Isn't it ironic that the professions which pay the most don't require one to have a certificate? It's just about doing what you know how to do best.

Footballers, musicians, actors, caterers, tailors/seamstresses, welders, carpenters, inventors, entrepreneurs some of whom have never step foot in the classroom, are in the position to employ people with all the prestigious degrees to work for them.

I am not by any stretch of imagination implying that it is all about the bucks. I have demonstrated that amply above, but as a matter fact economic considerations are integral in choices and decisions concluded on.

Otherwise why is that in spite of the nobility of teaching, very few parents –including parents in teaching profession - dream of their wards becoming a teacher. Children who suggest they want to be, are shut down and asked to change it or pick something different.

Career choice is a lifelong decision, if the best decision is made, it makes life fulfilling and worth living. If not sparks a lifetime of misery, frustration, a feeling of underachievement and lose of self-worth.

The negative effect of this may even have a toll on your grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Let us do all we can to make our children go this process, in a way that will make them turnout to be the success that our Maker meant them to be.

Much as our desires and egos are important we should not put them above the long term satisfaction of the child. We should ready to consult widely and need be shift positions to the greater good.

O my God! Help parents, 'shine their eyes'.

Rayhann Shaban

Parent-Child Relationship Coach

Lead Education, Advocate Development Networks (ADN)

rayhannshaban@hotmail.com

WhatsApp, Text or Call: 0243414669/0200225235