Parents: Encourage Your Children To Dream BIG!

May 28, 2010 by Nancy Sathre-Vogel
Filed under Travel

Children are capable of way more than we tend to think they are. It’s up to us, as parents, to let them fly.

Not all that many years have passed since the days of the family farm. Children were expected to help out from the time they walked – and they were more than capable of doing exactly that. Kids stacked hay bails and herded cows and were very physically fit and strong. The human race hasn’t traveled all that far down the evolutionary path for them to be incapable of that now.

But today, it seems the only thing kids are capable of is sitting around playing video games; or at least that’s all many parents expect of them. I hold a different opinion: I say give children the opportunity to reach for the stars and then watch them do it!

There have been a number of kids in the news lately for having achieved great things. Jessica Watson recently became the youngest person to sail solo around the world – at age 16. Jordan Romero just summited Everest at age 13. I commend these kids – and their parents for encouraging their children and believing in them.

Any parent in today’s society who encourages their children to do extraordinary feats will come under fire, and I’m sure Jessica’s and Jordan’s parents have dealt with their share of criticism. We’ve dealt with it too as we cycle the length of the Americas with our 12-year-old sons. Do-gooders will always criticize that which they don’t understand.

And yet – all it takes is one look at the joy in their faces to know that children have dreams too, and it’s our job as parents to encourage them. When I look into my sons’ eyes and see the fierce determination to reach the end of the world, I know we are doing right by allowing them to reach for the unreachable star. To take that dream away would most certainly crush my boys.

For all you kids reading this, I have this to say: Go for it. Reach for your dream. Figure out what it is that you really want to achieve in your life, and then go for it. You can do it. Yes, there will be those who tell you otherwise. There will be those who say you can’t do it. Don’t believe them. Reach for the stars.

And to parents: Let them do it. Allow your children to dream the impossible dream. Allow them to take risks and overcome obstacles. Encourage them to do the things you never did, but always dreamed of doing. And mostly – believe in them. Believe in your children and know they are more capable than you might think.

Nancy Sathre-Vogel has been traveling with children since her children were kneehigh to a grasshopper. She shares tips and hints on family travel on her website www.familyonbikes.org