Wow! What a night!
I got quite emotional when I watched talent show USA’s The X Factor: Finale the other night. Not because I was supporting anyone but seeing love and support throwing behind each top 3 contestants touched my heart.
I hardly watch reality shows but for The X Factor, it just happened that I watched the first episode, the finale, and a few episodes in between.
As I watched, it occurred to me that there were a few parenting tips that we could learn from The X Factor for raising happy and successful children.
It may sound weird putting parenting and a reality show together. But here they are.
1. Follow your intuition or hunch
Did you know that the winner of The X Factor was almost not on the original top 12 list for the competition? If it were not due to a strong hunch from Simon Cowell (one of the mentors and judges) that eventually made him to go to Melanie Amaro’s home and told her that he made a mistake to drop her from the top 12. The show was originally planned to have the initial 12 contestants but because of this incident, it changed to 13 to include Melanie. The rest is history. The 19-year old Melanie went on and won the competition with a $5 million recording contract. All this just because Simon listened and acted on his hunch.
This is one of the things that I always tell J and K: Listen to your heart. If you feel strongly about doing something, listen and act on it. Hunches are the nature’s way to tell you what to do and what not to do. As it is proven in The X Factor, it would have been a disaster (and a great loss of talent) if Simon did not listen to his gut feelings and went ahead and dropped Melanie in the selection round.
2. Be yourself, be original
If you notice, the champions do have common traits. And this is also a prevalent advice by the judges. That is don’t try to be others but be yourself. Or in the case of The X Factor, don’t copy other singer but be original and be yourself.
Don’t ask your child to be someone else but himself. Don’t impose your dreams and aspirations on your child but let him be what he wants to be. Being successful is being authentic and original.
3. Unconditional love
It’s amazing that all of the parents and family members had shown (in pre-recorded video clips) to the final three that they loved them regardless of whether they won or not. They were there to support the contestants and they were very proud of the contestants. The contestants knew that they were already winners no matter what the outcome was.
However it was especially difficult for Chris Rene (one of the final 3) as he has a bad past. He just pulled himself back on to the right track (70 days just before the contest) and now even on his way to stardom. His family does not give up on him despite his unhealthy past.
What about you? Do you only love your child when he is well-behaved? Or bring home good grades? If you say, “I will love you when…” You are giving love with conditions. A parent should love the child unconditionally – under all circumstances, good and bad.
For expert tips on raising happy and successful children, check out Dr. Joe Rubino’s program.
