by Ava Morton
How often have you heard parents tout that their two year old with the great throwing arm is going to be the next major league pitcher, or quarterback, etc?Though we may make these assertions about our children in jest, there is a hint of hope that maybe, just maybe, there might be something to Junior’s strong arm.
As parents, we naturally take pride in our children’s abilities to excel at things and dream of a future of possibilities that may have escaped us or we, as adults, continue to pursue. But just how big or limitless are the dreams, we as parents have for our children?
Instead of thinking how great it would be for Junior to be the next sports super star or for Princess to be the next singing sensation, how about dreaming for them to be the owners of the next sports or entertainment franchise? Heck, the inventor of a new sensation we do not even know we will be obsessing over, a la Steve Jobs. I’m not saying as parents we need to be “Tiger Mom” strict or “Toddlers in Tiaras” crazed.
However, allowing ourselves to dream big for our children, in turn means they will be encouraged and celebrated to dream big for themselves. Yes, this does resemble the overly used Les Brown quote (“Shoot for the moon; even if you miss it you will land among the stars”) but it has so much value when we raise our children to always dream and follow up on those dreams with actions that bring them closer to manifestation.
It’s not so important to focus on the exact outcome of what your child will be, but to give them the foundation to excel at the path they choose. Obviously, there is no one size fits all approach to raising the next generation of greatness, what matters most is allowing your actions as a parent to be guided by an open possibility that your children’s possibility for greatness is exponential.
Your unconditional love, support, and guidance are the foundations for planting seeds of greatness. The future is ripe and ready for a new generation of greatness, yet right now they are still learning how to go potty or to tie their shoes.
Ava Morton is a working mother juggling a career as a nonprofit grants professional with life as a wife and a mother to two under two.
I love that my mom was never a stage mom. She never pushed me into something I didn’t want to do. She always support the things I wanted to do and ensured I had the resources to pursue my dreams. I hope parents will focus more on that than breeding superhuman kids.