Just because you haven’t found your talent yet doesn’t mean you don’t have one.

Kermit the Frog

I wonder, what will my children’s talents be?

Sometimes talent is obvious from an early age: an academically gifted child, a great artist or musician, or one blessed with the ability to weave magic with a ball at their feet.

Sometimes a child may not reveal their talent until later: it may take a specific academic subject or a new sport to unearth hitherto unseen abilities, or they may just be a late bloomer who needs time and the right opportunity to present itself.

While some individuals will always be more obviously or highly gifted than others, I’m a great believer that every child has one or more talents waiting to be nurtured. The challenge for teachers and parents is to provide the patience, encouragement and means to identify and develop those talents – and not suppress them by forcing them down a particular path which may not be suited to them.

With Isaac, it was obvious from a young age that he was academically bright. He has Heather’s near-photographic memory – you never need to show him anything more than once – and possesses a keenly logical and curious mind.

At first we thought Toby’s talents were more creative than scholarly: he loves to draw and build from ideas that just pop into his head. But since starting school last September he has blossomed academically too: his reading skills are, if anything, even better than Isaac’s, and he’s doing well in maths too.

As for Kara, it’s still early days as she has only recently turned three. But, as I’ve said elsewhere, she has shown promise throwing and catching, so maybe she will be our sporty child. Or maybe she will surprise us and develop a completely different talent. Either way it will be fun finding out and I’ll be there to support her in whichever direction her interests and abilities take her in, opening every door I can and letting her dictate which ones she steps through.

I’m not going to be pushing any of them to audition for Britain’s Got Talent though!

What talents have your children developed? And do you have any particular hopes for what they might become?

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