Many parents want to raise children who are leaders. A child does not necessarily have to be Class President or Captain of a Sports team to be a leader.
Sometimes leadership can be demonstrated in the child who chooses not to engage in gossip. In my opinion, children who are their authentic selves despite what others think are leaders.
I figure one way for a child to be a leader is through
practice. It is also helpful when a parent
creates a leadership environment within the home.
Check out the 5 Ways to Create a Leadership Environment for Kids at the bottom of this post!
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At first, the age of five sounded like a good time to introduce the concept. However, most toddlers, start to show leadership skills around two when they know what they want to play with and explore.
My decision was to meet my child where he was and start letting him lead me at the age of two. Of course, this was practiced in safe and controlled environments.
As soon as I take my son outside to play, he is the leader. He chooses whether he wants to walk or ride his
scooter or
bike. Once we get outside, he can choose to go left toward the blacktop where we play
ball,
blow bubbles, and draw with
sidewalk chalk. In the right direction, there is a playground, nature trail, and grassy area for play. Wherever he goes I will follow him. He often looks back to ensure that I am behind him and then chuckles to himself.
Another time my son leads is when we play “Marching Band”. My friends gave him a
Paw Patrol- Music Set which includes a tambourine, drum, Chinese drum, Clapper, and Castanets. We play the musical instruments to various songs while marching and dancing around the house. Along with choosing the type of music we listen to, my little one is the marching band leader. He may lead me dancing in the basement, kitchen, or living room.
Your children can learn a lot when you let them lead sometimes. Below is what I found…
Confidence and Trust
Letting a child lead gives them confidence because they are experiencing your trust. You are trusting in their ability to lead the way, make decisions, and communicate. As a parent, you give them credibility and are showing respect. They feel you are buying in to them and their choice of activity. They also feel that they are worthy to be leading you, an adult.
Use of Knowledge
In most cases, in order to led someone, you must have prior knowledge of the subject. In order to lead you on a walk around the neighborhood, a child must be familiar with their surroundings. Once knowledge is established, they can apply it to provide a better experience. For example, if a child is leading you toward a concrete play area, they may bring
side walk chalk or a
ball to make playtime fun.
Asking questions
In contrast, some kids may choose to lead even if they don’t have prior knowledge.
Leaders who are not knowledgeable about a subject may surround themselves with experts in that field. Part of leadership is knowing when these opportunities arise. Children are excellent at detecting this! You are your child’s expert. You may build
Legos with your child and they are leading you in building something that is familiar to them. What happens when they are building something for the first time? They either figure it out or they may ask for your help.
When to Lead
It is important to establish where your children can lead. For example, you probably don’t want your children leading in the grocery store or in an office building.
Being a good follower makes a good leader. Your child follows you in the grocery store so one day they will independently go themselves or lead someone else while shopping. Being a follower is where the child will gain prior knowledge to guide or mentor others. Knowing when to lead helps the child with boundaries and to apply a new skill to help someone in the future.
As a parent, be a good follower occasionally. In doing so, your child may discover their interests, purpose, and passions!
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5 Ways to Create a Leadership Environment for Kids
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I was watching Sway in the Morning radio show on YouTube one day and saw a former Central Intelligence Agent (CIA) Officer, Jason Hanson, being interviewed. He discussed his life in the CIA and offered safety tips.
His interview was so compelling, I purchased two of his books, 
When my son and I are walking in our neighborhood or to the grocery store, he will say hello to everyone who passes by. He observes me saying hello to our neighbors and chooses to follow in my footsteps. However, as adults, we can mostly discern between who we should be friendly towards.
Therefore, it seemed like a good time to discuss differentiating between good and bad strangers. I wasn’t sure how to start the conversation.
As I was skimming children’s books online, I saw 
The book, 
Have you ever asked a kid what they wanted to be when they grow up? A typical answer to this question may be a veterinarian, fireman, doctor, or astronaut. How about asking a kid to share their ideas for new inventions or ways to solve problems? A child may have an idea to make their chores easier by inventing an automatic bathroom cleaner.
When a child answers these questions, why not take a FIELD TRIP TO THE FUTURE! For the child who is interested in animals, schedule a field trip to the zoo and meet a zoologist. Ask your local veterinarian if your child can visit with them for a moment. Another idea is to take a nature walk and make observations about animals.
The child who wants to invent the automatic bathroom cleaner will have to work in smaller steps. They may begin by observing the janitor at their school. Cleaning a bathroom can be a big task, so maybe they can start by creating the automatic toilet cleaner. The next step may be for the child to draw their invention on paper and decide what materials are needed. Afterwards, take the child to a hardware store to decide, view, and purchase materials needed to make a prototype of their idea.
Another way to stimulate a child’s imagination is to visit the local library to read about someone who shares your child’s interest. An Internet search is also very helpful!
The point is to expose your child to real life examples that match their interests! It can be fun and is a way to keep your child’s brain active.
Happy Learning!
In our “Start ‘Em Up Business” Program, we teach students about Market Research. One form of Market Research is getting people’s opinions about your product. Typically, research is conducted on potential customers who may buy your product in the future.
If you view the 
I remember the summer before my freshman year of college, I went to a Scholarship Dinner. I was excited about the dinner until I saw multiple forks, knives, plates, and spoons. I remember thinking to myself, “Why do I have so many utensils in front of me?”
Thank goodness for my older brother! He secretly guided me through which utensils to use at the appropriate time.
It was then, that I made a decision to teach my children or any group of kids I work with, about dining etiquette. A field trip to a restaurant is a wonderful way to teach this concept.
I took a group of children to a restaurant to learn about dining etiquette and the American vs. European table settings. I had a volunteer consultant come to teach the class. If you can’t find a consultant, below is how you can execute this task!
Adults usually attend many meetings in the workplace and/or in the community. We have meetings to solve problems, to plan events, to get an update, etc. Sometimes meetings can be too long and unnecessary. Some supervisors in the workplace have meetings at the same day and time each week. These meetings can occur even if there is nothing on the agenda.
Meetings can occur in various places such as in the office, at someone’s home, or in a restaurant.
Why not teach our students how to have “EFFECTIVE” meetings that actually get things done? Try this activity below and see if your students can accomplish their goals in a meeting.
