In our society, it is an in-built prerequisite to achieve academic excellence. Everyone’s ability to succeed is measured according to the number of paper qualifications they have. As such, it is deeply embedded in our mindset that we should be rated according to our academic achievements.

A person with excellent thinking skills but has no paper qualification to prove them will be regarded as one who is not serious in life. So it is hardly surprising that parents find themselves immersed in the quest for academic excellence in their children.

Academic excellence should not be the sole basis of our children’s achievements. Be proud of what your child is, shout about his paintings, the way he recognises each and every car on the road, the way he makes a vase out of a fizzy drink can, the way he washes the dishes and places them in the dish-dryer perfectly. These are skills parents should acknowledge.

We should all learn how to enjoy our children’s natural talents instead of becoming red in the face when our child does not perform academically as well as the kid next door.

As parents, we should not succumb to the pressure, expectations and admonishing around us. Getting 10 A1s is fine and dandy, but it pales in comparison to a child who has the right thinking skills.

This simply refers to the ability of a child in making decisions, analysing situations and deriving solutions from ideas and facts. These are based on perceptual reasoning and thinking challenges. If a child has not been exposed to such learning experiences, we will not be maximazing the child’s learning and thinking potential.