What if there were something you so liked to do that it made you feel completely alive? What if others saw that deep, meaningful part of you and appreciated and fostered it in you? What if you had an opportunity to share your passion with the world?

Often, as parents, we focus on homework, grades, chores, healthy eating, and exercise with the hope that our child will grow hardy and strong. According to Peter Benson, founder of the Search Institute and the 40 Developmental Assets, those focuses should be secondary to paying close attention to and fostering our child’s spark. Benson’s research, in fact, has shown that focusing on our child’s spark, that activity that makes him/her feel fully alive, is the single most effective avenue leading to a thriving youth.

According to Benson, there is a magic formula for a thriving youth:

SPARK  +  3 ADULTS WHO SEE THAT SPARK  +  OPPORTUNITY   =   THRIVING YOUTH

He says that kids who have all three of the above components actually thrive in all the ways that matter to the people who love and care about them: Sense of purpose rises, achievement goes up, compassion and generosity explode, and interdependence and interconnectedness blossom.

To help you understand the significance of “sparks,” let’s break down the three components of Benson’s magic formula:

1. SPARK: Youth for the most part know their spark. This is not the barrier. When Peter Benson asks youth, “What is it that gives you joy, energy, that fills you up?” two-thirds can name their spark quickly and another 25% can figure it out pretty easily with a few probing questions.

2. ADULTS WHO SEE IT: Young people yearn for authentic relationships. Having people see them through the lens of their passion is very connecting. A great combination is to be supported by a parent, a teacher, and a community person—such as a neighbor, coach, scout leader or youth minister–who all see and appreciate this passion.

3. OPPORTUNITY: Having a community that values youth and creates places they can manifest passions–be it creative arts, sports, volunteering opportunities–is the final key. This is where we parents can really help our youth by opening doors through sports teams, places of worship, recreation centers, arts camps, and more.

The ten most common sparks youth report, in order of frequency, include:

1. Creative Arts (65% girls and 43% boys)
2. Athletics (16% girls and 37% boys)
3. Learning (e.g. languages, science, history)
4. Reading
5. Helping, serving
6. Spirituality, religion
7. Nature, ecology, environment
8. Living a quality life (e.g. joy, tolerance, caring)
9. Animal welfare
10.Leading

And sparks are not just related to teenagers. In a Search Institute survey, eleven-hundred parents reported that the age when their child’s spark first appeared is:

Birth to 3: 11 %
3-5: 17 %
6-9: 25 %
10-12: 21 %
13-15: 18 %
16-18: 8 %

With the pressure of school performance at bay for the next few months, summer is the perfect time to explore sparks. Kids want their parents to be the captain of their spark teams. Parents can help with extending into the community and drawing in other champions. Lena Mejie did a fantastic job of finding mentors in her extended family and community to match her twin teens’ interests as outlined in “Mentoring: How Two Adolescents Prepare to Come of Age as Persons of Character.”

Are you willing to step up to the challenge? Imagine what it would be like if all 2500 of you receiving this email stepped up to this challenge. It would ROCK YOUR KID’S WORLD in a very positive direction—a direction that would benefit us all.

Being the spark team captain says loud and clear, “I believe in you.” Or as Maya Angelou sums it up so well, “Love is knowing a person’s song so well you can hum it back to her in the days she can’t remember the melody.”

With admiration for all you do,

Dr. Kathy

P.S. For more detailed information, Visit the official Web site about sparks at www.ignitesparks.com.