How to Unleash Money Smart Kidpreneur Creativity?
Does your child have non-traditional pursuits of interest? It doesn’t have to be odd interest like collecting all those single socks that come up missing in the laundry for some unknown ongoing school project. His thing could be something you don’t have an interest in, nor, do you believe it’s worth sacrificing for, like editing digital photography or developing gaming programs.
Step 1: Don’t be a dream crusher. When was the last time you told a close friend, you wished your parents would have supported your dream to pursue what you were crazy about doing as a kid? Ever wonder how your life would be different if someone had blown wind into your sails? I’m still trying to get past some of my childhood dream crushers, so I don’t wind up saying one day, “If only I had been courageous enough to write my first script or shoot my own short film?”
Step 2: Be creative with funding your child’s interest.
Cortlan Wickliff, a 19-year-old inventor and senior at Rice University, recently organized a youth camp to teach kids about math and science. All inspired from him following his mother to her college classes because it was less expensive than paying for childcare. He says his mother didn’t buy him the newest Jordan’s, but she did spend $300 to get him on a plane so he could see the world.
Step 3: Make your child offers they buy into.
Maybe you’re raising the next tech savvy entrepreneur like Ephren W. Taylor II, the youngest African-American CEO of any publicly traded company ever-City Capital Corporation (OTCBB:CTCC) runs a multi-million dollar technology enterprise. His parents were moderately creative in funding his interest to play video games. They told him that in order for him to play video games he would have to create his own. The rest is his-story.
Stay focused, stay confident, and be creative.
This guest post written by returning guest blogger, former United States Marine and Money Smart Radio fan favorite, LaRon Carter. He is a K12 education behavioral strategist and author of Stop Crying in the Restroom [it ain't that deep]: A Guide to Your Best Year Teaching With Smart K12 Goal Setting Methods. Follow Carter “The Guest Teacher” @laroncarter on Twitter.
I really like what you are saying here. I couldn’t agree more. I would add, that when I was 7 making messes trying to build things and take other things apart, my mom would find whatever cheap science kits she could find and kept my interest growing. My dad, when he was alive, would let me run wild with experiments in his auto-body shop. While, looking back, it probably wasn’t the safest thing for a 7-10 yr old to be playing w/ power tools, it was an invaluable experience for me. That encouragement and creative spending kept my thirst for scientific inquiry growing and 13 yrs later I am a Bioengineer and one of, if not the, youngest person at Harvard Law School right now.
Thank you for the the shout out, and let me know if there is any way I can help. Something that none of my interviews have addressed fully, and something I hope to emphasize in my next interview with Dr. Micheal Eric Dyson, is my commitment to education. I have been a peer mentor, and tutor since I was a freshmen in High School. Currently I do a bit of motivational speaking and have spoken in various places around the country. I also have quite a bit of experience in conference planning, especially geared towards encouraging youth to go to college and promoting STEM fields. In some of the interviews, they talked about the 3 day youth conference in Houston with about 200 people in attendance, but I have also done several 1 day events for smaller groups.
Regards,
Cortlan Wickliff