Ask The Expert: How Can I Help My Child Become A Strong Leader?

We all want our kids to stand out in a crowd, be the leader of the pack, and most of all, be confident in their abilities to move forward in this world. But what about the quiet kids – can they be leaders? And how do we teach any child the skills they need to be a leader and the value of learning new things? We spoke to Shakeh Tashjian, the director of Dwight-Englewood School Summer Connections program in Englewood, New Jersey, to discover how to teach your child leadership skills and a love of learning for good measure!

Do you wonder how to make your child to be a leader in his or her peer group? We spoke to Shakeh Tashjian, the director of Dwight-Englewood School Summer Connections program in Englewood, New Jersey, to discover how to teach your child leadership skills and a love of learning for good measure!

We all want our kids to stand out in a crowd, be the leader of the pack, and most of all, be confident in their abilities to move forward in this world. But what about the quiet kids – can they be leaders? And how do we teach any child the skills they need to be a leader and the value of learning new things? Dwight-Englewood Summer Connections program in Englewood, New Jersey, specializes in engaging learners in the joy of discovery through a variety of experiences, and creates leaders in the process. We spoke with director Shakeh Tashjian to find out how you can best help your children become a leader, though that role may look different on every child.

How can parents encourage their children to become strong leaders?

If you want a child to be a strong leader, you’ve got to build up their comfort level by letting them take risks. Not crazy risks, but things that will help build their confidence and make them feel, “I could handle this challenge if it were ahead of me.” Register them for a debate class where they have to actually do research and prepare themselves and then stand up in front of everyone and present what they’ve learned. Sign them up for an activity that has a showcase event, like a robotics class where at the end there’s a little competition where they have to make their robot go in a certain maze or do certain things. The point of these activities is that they are putting themselves out there in a nurturing environment. It’s a safe place where they can test their strengths and build their confidence and show themselves that they are capable of doing this, and at the same time they’re showing others that they are capable of doing it.

The other piece of teaching your child to become a leader is teaching kids how to communicate and how to interact with their peers whether or not they are their best friends. In other words, you want diversity. You don’t want your child to hang out with the same kind of kids every day because that puts them back in their comfort zone and doesn’t make them push through and see if there’s anything else they can try.

Introducing intellectual risks and diversity are the best ways to make your child a leader.

Are there some children who are simply not cut out to be leaders?

There are many different kinds of leaders. Sometimes being able to listen to everyone is the most important key and just because it looks like a child isn’t taking initiative doesn’t mean they are not in their own way interacting with the group and being part of that group.