Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
As an employer, I always value a person who not only does what he is told, but sees something else which needs to be done and does it. Taking initiative is a skill and an attitude which is much easier to develop as a child than as an adult.

If your child is told to wash the dishes, he has the opportunity to show initiative if he not only washes the dishes but sweeps the floor. A child who learns to walk into a room, see a problem, and resolve it will climb to the upper echelon of any business.

For those rare children who naturally take initiative, you simply need to heap on the praise and not take them for granted. Most other children need to be taught how to take initiative, how to anticipate needs, and how to see needs that others will realize only later and resolve them right now. Then they need opportunities to put these lessons into practice.

Household chores are probably the best training ground for learning to take initiative. If you have to tell a child to feed the dog every single night, that child has not learned to take initiative. (Peter, are you listening?)

Employers value employees who learn to take initiative. Next time, we'll talk about how parents can encourage their kids to strive for excellence. I’m Mike Farris.