Recently I have had a few things remind me that kids have no limits.  Parents need to not place limits and remember that children posses an amazing capacity to accomplish just about anything.

I am a father of a ten year old girl and eight year old boy and I’m often impressed at what they can do.  All parents want the best for their children.  We want them to have all of the opportunities they can and the chance to have a happy life.  However, it is vital that we not accidentally set them up to not achieve the most they can because we think they are kids and can’t do it.  Kids constantly amaze me with their ability to accomplish big feats.

Kids Have No Limits – A Couple Of Inspirational Stories

I just want to give a couple of examples of kids achieving impressive feats that inspire and show me that kids truly have no limits.

My family just completed a hike to the summit of a volcano in one day where we climbed just over 5,000 feet and then descended the same amount.  We walked for over 7 hours in the fog, cold, and wind over 13 miles.

It was hard for me, but the kids did it and enjoyed it.  When we finished I marveled that my kids just did that hike because it was so hard.  It was a foggy, cold, windy day, yet they wanted to do it, so we pushed on and made it.  We passed lots of people turning around because of the weather, but our kids wanted to do it and kept going.

One other story is a Ted talk that a friend pointed out to me.  This is a family with two children, also aged eight and ten, that hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.  If you want some inspiration and to see that kids have no limits then listen or watch this for a bit.  Not only did the whole family complete the trail, but the kids had a 20 mile and 30 mile day of their choosing!

Parents Should Have High Expectations For Kids

I guess my point with this post is just to make sure that parents realize that we can have high expectations for our kids.  Kids can accomplish and do amazing things.  As parents, we need to support their dreams and do what we can to help them enjoy it.  Parents also need to be sure not to dissuade them or tell them they can’t do it just  because they are kids.

It May Require Hard Work So They Have To Want It

I’m not saying that it will be easy to do these things.  I know it was hard for my kids to hike to the top of that mountain and I’m sure it was hard for those kids to hike the Appalachian trail.  But, they wanted to achieve it and they did it.

As parents we need to do our best to support our kids and help them achieve their dreams.  We need to give them the tools to push through the hard work and bad times to keep going.  However, parents need to be cautious of pushing too much.  It only works if the kids want to achieve it or do it themselves.