Recently I was engaged in conversation with an HR personnel (Human resources officer of a Multi-National Company). His job was to interview and short list eligible candidates through ‘campus interviews’ held for the final year graduate students in a variety of institutions - engineering, management, catering, finance… I expressed my surprise at the nature of his job, as I felt that he needed to be the Jack-of-all-trades! He gave me an amazingly simple reply. While the experts in the respective fields sat with him in the interview panel, he engaged in probing in to the most essential requirement of any employer: the candidate’s ATTITUDE.
Well, are you wondering why I am discussing this topic? This website is dedicated to the discovery, nurturing and blossoming of the genius in every child, no doubt. And the Recruiting Officer’s quest, I felt, could be met with satisfactorily IF AND ONLY IF the seeds are sown early- Childhood is the sowing season. Be it communication skills, in-depth knowledge of the area of specialization, leadership qualities, team spirit, planned approach, organised strategy, disciplined performance, foresight of probable results, crisis management, upkeep of success of the mission and POSITIVE ATTITUDE… Sounds too good to believe?
The molding of your child in to one of the most successful professionals or “the best” in his field depends hugely on the parental guidance and the school’s inputs. The flash cards that we have already discussed in detail would open the doors of knowledge to your child early, thanks to his early reading habit. In spite of his childish pranks, he would certainly grow up to be an avid learner with a zest for creativity and innovation. Here are some tips to enhance his observation and comprehension skills:
For a child of age 2:
If you are talking to your child about ’shapes’, look for examples all around: ‘Circle’ will light up his eyes when you both see any object of that shape: Be it moon, a round-shaped biscuit, his plate, the Frisbee, the car’s steering wheel, tyres, eyeball, the shape of your mouth when you articulate ‘O’…
When it comes to ‘cars’, look for cars on the road,
on the television, in the magazines, on hoardings, in his toys-basket. You may draw the out line of a car and ask the child to complete it with the wheels and windows. Though imperfect, the child’s “drawing” would please him thoroughly and kindle creativity.
For a child of age 3
If you are initiating the child to reading maps, encourage him to visualize the surroundings in the form of an image, helping him to structuralize the idea. Make a little demo: hold an object (say a chocolate bar ) 
very near his face and gradually distance it away to the corner of the room. At equal distances, draw pictures of the chocolate bar as it was seen by the child’s eye. By the time the bar reaches the corner of the room, it becomes such a minuscule thing when it is pictured.
You may now draw a parallel between geographical areas and locations as seen from the aerial view which are presented in the form of maps in the Atlas. The next time
- you take a see-through capsule lift,
- you take a flight and your child sees the view of the city down below through the window,
- you are simply on the 8th, 10th or even higher floor of a tall building,
- you are on your way to a hill resort,
focus on enlightening your child on the concepts that he is being exposed to.
For a child of age 4
If you are talking about the earliest inventions, discoveries and tools that man had first used - the wheel, fire and pulley - encourage your child to look for their relevance in today’s life. Watch him get filled with awe and amazement as he realises that even today OUR OWN LIVES would be thrown out of gear without these three gifts from the early man.
This time around, he will do the talking with excitement and oh- non-stop!
For a child of 5
If you are talking to the child about agriculture and irrigation, stop your vehicle by the country side and help him to have the feel of the farm. Gift a few pots of plants (of different kinds) and guide the child to sow seeds in one, plant a sapling in another and tie a thread connecting the creeper 
in the third pot to the window near by. Let the child experience the growth process, firsthand.
By the time your child completes schooling, all that he would need is specialization in academics that the college would provide him. He would have the “MOST ADMIRED AND WANTED” tag around his neck, invisible to naked eyes.
Your hard work would never fail to pay ‘rich dividends’.