For decades, TED Talks have been a repository of inspiring ideas and tales of innovation that push us to be a better version of ourselves. But these talks aren’t just restricted to adults. Children and teenagers have a lot to benefit from them as well. Here are three TED Talks that will help bring out the best in our kids and make them believe that ideas can, indeed, conquer everything.
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‘Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs’ – Cameron Herold
Cameron Herold, an entrepreneur since childhood, has been a pioneer in entrepreneurial coaching across five continents. He believes that instead of wasting our time on training kids to be better at something they are not good at and do not like, we should, instead, encourage them to nurture their talents and follow their dreams. According to Cameron, we need to understand that even the backbencher who seldom pays attention in class has a talent that needs to be nurtured. Being an entrepreneur is actually a cool thing and not something to be scared of.
In the talk, he says, “We have the ability to get those groups of people around us that want to kind of build that dream with us, and I think if we could get kids to embrace the idea at a young age of being entrepreneurial, we could change everything in the world that is a problem today. Every problem that's out there, somebody has the idea for [solving it]. And, as a young kid, nobody can say it can't happen because you're too dumb to realise that you couldn't figure it out.”
‘Want to be an activist? Start with your toys’ – McKenna Pope
McKenna Pope is a teen activist who petitioned Hasbro to market its Easy-Bake Oven to boys as well as girls and to change its marketing and packaging to appeal to both genders. This 13-year-old received about 45,000 signatures supporting her petition. In fact, she received a call from Hasbro, inviting her to their headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to show her their new unisex designs.
In her speech, McKenna mentions that her main learning from this experience was the fact that even as a kid, your voice matters. She strongly believed in the cause that she was arguing for, and she raised her voice to bring about a change. She concludes her speech with this message: “And, you can make that change. You can take what you believe in and turn it into a cause and change it. And, that spark that you've been hearing about all day today, you can use that spark that you have within you and turn it into a fire.”
‘Meet a young entrepreneur, cartoonist, designer, activist...’ – Maya Penn
Maya Penn started a business when she was eight – her own retail website where she sells her line of luscious knit scarves and eco-friendly hats. Ever since she learnt what an animator does, she knew that she had to be one. In fact, she is also incredibly fascinated with technology. She admits, “At four years old, my dad showed me how to take apart a computer and put it back together again. That started my love for technology. I built my first website myself in HTML, and I'm learning JavaScript and Python.” In addition to all this, she is also an eager evangelist of teaching kids of be entrepreneurs at any age.
In her speech, she emphasises the power of ideas. She explains, “Ideas can spark a movement. Ideas are opportunities and innovation. Ideas truly are what make the world go round. If it wasn't for ideas, we wouldn't be where we are now with technology, medicine, art, culture, and how we even live our lives.” She admits that she doesn’t just want to build a successful business with her ideas but also make sure that it is sustainable. She concludes her speech with this message: “We live in a big, diverse and beautiful world, and that makes me even more passionate to save it. But it's never enough to just get it through your heads about the things that are happening in our world. It takes to get it through your hearts, because when you get it through your heart that is when movements are sparked. That is when opportunities and innovation are created, and that is why ideas come to life.”
What are your favourite TED talks you want to listen to with your children? Let us know in the comments section below.