Foster future engineers

As India races towards the big goal of emerging as the world's number one nation, parents too have a role to play in nation building activity. The future generation is not only the Government's responsibility, but ours too! Here is what parents can do shape up their children's career as well the country's future—

Trust your children

The biggest let-down a child can face is if there's no backing at all from the family. Conversely, if parents have faith in their children, then they can well be unstoppable. A common mistake that parents commit is that they deem grades to be an indicator of a child's aptitude. Grades in his case are a poor indicator of his ability and potential. They don’t alone define the student's capability and thus it's imperative to have faith in one's children and look for his aptitude.

The Right Attitude

Engineering isn’t all about math. It's just one of the tools. Parents must an open mind about their children and ensure that they are groomed with the help of their teachers or mentors who in turn can  make mathematical and scientific concepts are interesting to students There is lot more that goes into making an engineer. Patience and perseverance, for instance, are also important as engineers aren’t made overnight.

Study with hobbies

Help the child explore career opportunities within his hobbies. As children indulge in their hobbies, parents must help them link it to possible career options that it relates to, as well as explain the big picture to them.

Expose the kids to camps

Camps and seminars are a great way to break the monotony of classroom. A good camp will show them things they have not seen or considered before.

nEncourage after-school activities

After-school programmes in robotics or math are worth exploring. The best place to search for a quality after-school programme is your child's school. Such programmes hone the child's skills gradually while channelising their interests. Parents can also explore this list of engineering related competitions.

Provide subtle communication

Sometimes it isn’t so easy to talk to kids about career opportunities especially when they are in their teens. It's wise for parents to communicate whatever career-related information they want to, in subtle ways. Talking to them one-on-one will create the impression among children that parents are trying to dominate them.

Supply direct communication

Contemplating a right career can be made easy via interacting with the right people. Parents can use this as an advantage by inviting friend of family members who are engineers or into the field of technology. Encouraging that person to talk about his of her career — how he or she got into it and why it's satisfying. This can be a natural springboard for the child's questions and exploration.

Opt for Educational vacations

While travelling around the country or even in local area can be of advantage when those tours are a mix of education and fun. There are many sights that help to learn about engineering for instance museums, dams etc. Scheduling visits to such sites can generate an enthusiasm in the kids about engineering.

Visiting websites of engineering colleges

An effort on part of the parents to sit with the child and check out the websites for local colleges of engineering will surely be fruitful.  Making notes of what each school offers and how it will benefit their kids will help. Parents can gauge what seems exciting to the child while browsing those websites.

Avoid comparison

Never ever compare your children with others'. Children will repulse such talks, either they will get aggressive or withdraw into inferiority complex. This could prove detrimental for both the child and the parent.

The writer is CEO and Managing Director, Rao IIT Academy.