This is a featured article
As a parent, picking up on and recognizing behavioural patterns and signs in children is important for their development and future. In this day-and-age, it is possible for children to start out at a young age in whatever their area of interest may be.
For example, if a parent notices their young child constantly building towers out of legos around the house or they come home from school full of curiosity about what they’ve learned about construction, encouraging them to keep sharing what they love about architecture and finding them opportunities to spread their ideas and potential skills can be beneficial. For all parents out there, there are a number of specific ways to encourage your child’s dream.
Ways to encourage your child’s dream
First of all, after becoming educated on the topic the tiny builder shows interest in, sharing knowledge with children about what it means to be an architect is crucial. Seeing if their face lights up or if they quickly lose interest when they learn can be telling. Once they reach high school and have more of a grasp of what is out there, they can be introduced to the idea of being taught by professionals in this field later in life. At this point, a parent can recommend working toward earning a bachelor of architecture degree when their child gets to college.
Long before college becomes a major thought in a young child’s mind, parents should allow them to express their creativity and skill-set by making forts around the house. Building “forts” out of blankets, pillows, et cetera is something that any ordinary child does for fun but this unique individual would take it to a new, complex level. Though it seems like a small step, practising this could eventually help them complete more tasks like this in the real world on a larger scale.
Again, long before studying architecture in college is possible, sending a child off to preschool to play with building blocks and having some at home can allow a future architect to practice “constructing.” Just like making forts, this will either make the child dig deep to figure out how to keep the structure standing or they will do it with ease. Either way, it’s a chance to show off their talent.
Two final ways to encourage a young child with an interest in architecture are:
1.) Having them draw lots of “plans” of either the floor or of a place they are familiar with, like the house or their school.
2.) Introducing the ideas of mathematical proportions and dimensions to them when they get older.
The first way will allow them to explore their mind and will show a parent how much they understand about their surroundings. The second will give them a better idea of the concept of space and scale when they are building. Both of these suggestions will help them a lot with a future career in architecture and are highly recommended.
All in all, one may believe that a 5-year-old couldn’t possibly know that architecture is right for them, but they’d be surprised at what these early signs can mean. A parent could have one of the brightest future architects on their hands and not even know it if they ignore the interests of their child. Therefore, being supportive and excited for children that have unique skills like this can make all of the difference for their future.
No Comments