5 ways to raise an enterprising child

Whether setting up a play ‘shop’ such as a garden centre (use plant pots and seeds), café (in a group of children, have each take responsibility for a different task), or getting out and about building a den, opportunities to learn about aspects of business and enterprise through play activities are immense.

Let your child’s imagination run wild and, whilst you’re having fun, take a moment to notice what kind of role they appear to be most comfortable with – is it taking the lead and organising, focusing on the practical details of setting up the ‘shop’, selling, or thinking about the best use of space and presentation of the merchandise?

You could also add some relevant story-telling and reading into playtimes. Clever Tykes storybooks are aimed at primary-school children aged 6-9 and aim to present positive entrepreneurial role models.

As parents, we often take on the role of ‘fixer’ when incidents occur at home. Whether that’s mopping up spills or removing offending objects after a fall, it’s quicker to just solve the problem and move on.

These simple scenarios, however, can provide an opportunity for your child to start finding or creating solutions for themselves. For example, help them explore what type of material works best for cleaning the kitchen floor, or, the next time they complain of soggy sandwiches at lunchtime, turn the tables and ask how they would solve the problem.

Trying out ideas and finding out how others have dealt with difficult situations will help them become confident in and engaged by the creative processes involved.

Whenever possible, encourage your child to take the lead in an activity – or at the very least give them responsibility for particular tasks. So, for example, next time you’re planning a family trip or thinking about what meals to cook for the week ahead, get them involved in the planning – this will help them understand the importance of preparation, resource allocation, and the different strengths of individual family members.

With their natural curiosity and energy levels, children can become very engaged in specific areas, so if you see this happening encourage them to develop their interest and help set small, achievable goals to encourage learning and progression, whether that’s with computers, caring for animals, drawing, cooking, junk modelling, collecting or whatever grabs their imagination.

The important thing to remember is to let your child set the pace at which they learn; whether they want to proceed fast or slowly, make sure their desire to know more is supported.

It’s natural to encourage children to have an interest in the environment, sciences and arts, but it’s also important to raise awareness of the central role that business plays in our communities.

Shopping trips offer plenty of opportunities to talk about products, pricing, and customer service. Sorting through and selling some of the toys they’ve outgrown together, visiting car boot sales and going to farmers’ markets all help develop a basic understanding of the processes of buying and selling. When you are out and about at the shops try to use cash rather than credit/debit cards to make purchases, as this can help money seem more ‘real’.

Talk about your own work, and encourage other adult members of the family to do the same – discuss how products or services are paid for by individuals and taxation and how people are persuaded to buy what is being sold.

An enterprising child understands that their parents’ money is earned by effort as they start to learn about the concept of work.

There’s no doubt that children learn as much – if not more – from our behaviour as parents as they do from school, books, computer games, or even friends. They begin to imitate adult attitudes from a very young age, so being a positive role model for thinking and behaving in an enterprising way will have a significant impact on their own character development.
 

Lorraine Allman is the author of Enterprising Child – developing your child’s entrepreneurial potential, a practical guide for parents of children aged 4 to 14 years, packed with over a hundred activities and ideas to inspire enterprise at home, plus insights from some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs. for more information go to www.enterprisingchild.com