How to Recognize God-Given Talents in Your Child: The Clues Hidden in What They Love to Do

7-8 Minute Read

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When my daughter was three, I noticed something small. She started dressing her teddy bears and dolls, then choosing her own outfits with a kind of confidence that made me pause.

At first, I brushed it off. I thought, “Awww, that’s cute.”

But when she was four, she came home from summer camp with an oversized tie-dye shirt and said, “Mom, I want to make a dress.”

She pulled out her safety scissors, a handful of safety pins, and started working with a determination I didn’t expect from a four-year old. I almost stopped her. I almost told her not to ruin the shirt. But something inside me said, leave her along… let’s see what happens.

And that one moment, that one decision, changed everything. Because what I saw that day wasn’t just play – it was purpose.

The Signals We Overlook

Every parent wants to raise a child who’s confident, capable, and prepared for the future. We track grades, monitor screen time, and enroll them in every activity we can manage.

But in the middle of all the scheduling and supervision, we sometimes miss the most powerful clues about who our children are meant to be.

The way they spend hours designing slideshows for fun.
Their obsession with organizing their room just right.
The sketches covering every corner of their notebook.
The YouTube tutorials they watch on repeat because they have to know how it’s done.

These moments aren’t meaningless. They’re hints – early expressions of God-given wiring.

And yet, so many of us dismiss them as “phases,” “fads,” or “just hobbies.”

But what if those are actually the first signs of calling?

The Myth We Inherited

We were raised to believe that childhood is for play and adulthood is for purpose.

So we let kids “just be kids” until suddenly they’re 13, overwhelmed by comparison, and unsure of what they’re good at. Then they’re 16, sitting at the kitchen table filling out college applications, trying to pick a major when they don’t even know what makes them come alive.

We wonder why so many teens feel lost, anxious, or unmotivated.

It’s not because they don’t have gifts.
It’s because we, as a culture, stopped paying attention to them.

Every time we say, “Focus on this instead of that,” while brushing past what excites them, we send a quiet but affirming message: your curiosity doesn’t count.

But that spark, that curiosity, is the key to everything they’ll need to thrive.

The Things That “Don’t Matter” Often Matter Most

When your eight-year-old spends hours building Minecraft worlds – they’re not “just gaming.” They’re designing and testing systems.

When your 11-year-old starts organizing group projects – that’s leadership and early operations thinking.

When your teen launches a small online store selling bracelets or digital art – that’s entrepreneurship and brand-building.

These are purpose patterns: small, consistent behaviors that reveal how your child naturally thinks, creates, and solves problems.

The earlier we notice them, the easier it is to nurture confidence, direction, and self-awareness… the very traits that lead to lifelong success.

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How to Start Recognizing Purpose Patterns

Here’s how to identify what’s beneath the surface:

1. Look at repetition. What do your child return to, again and again, even without being told?
2. Watch for energy. What makes them light up or lose track of time?
3. Listen to language. What do they talk about when no one’s prompting them?
4. Notice persistence. What do they keep trying to improve on, even when it’s hard?

When you start tracking these clues, you’ll begin to see the story God is already writing in your child’s life.

The 3 Signs Their Gift Isn’t a Phase

(And how to spot them with clarity, not confusion)

Here’s how you know a spark is more than a seasonal interest:

1. Repeat: What do they return to without being reminded?
Patterns > Phases.
If they’ve been doing it for months – or years – that’s a signal.

Ask yourself: “What does my child choose even when no reward is attached?”

2. Resist: What do they protect or get defensive about?
If you try to move them off-task and they strongly resist?
That’s not stubbornness – that’s identity trying to survive.

Ask: “Where does my child show fierce loyalty to what they love?”

3. Reach: Where do they push themselves beyond what’s required?
Kids rarely stretch for things they don’t care about.
But when they reach, when they try again, improve ideas, and solve problems – that’s passion maturing into purpose.

Ask: “What challenges do my child willingly take on just to get better?”

What I Decided to Do Differently

That day with the tie-dye shirt, I didn’t tell my daughter to stop. I sat beside her and asked questions.

“What made you want to turn it into a dress?”
“How did you figure out how to do that?”
“What do you want to try next?”

Her face lit up – not because she finished the project, but because she felt seen.

That’s when I realized something profound: kids don’t need us to design their future; they need us to discern their gifts.

So instead of managing her interests, I started mentoring them.

I helped her find tools to explore more. We researched designers together and joined business communities to network, learn, and grow. We also talked about creativity, faith, and purpose.

And slowly, she began to believe that what she loved doing actually mattered.

The Results Were Clear

The more I made space for her to explore what she loved, the more confident and focused she became.

She didn’t just “play dress-up” – she started building her identity.

That’s what happens when parents stop dismissing what seems small and start developing what’s sacred.

Because purpose doesn’t start at 18.
It starts the moment we recognize it.

Why This Matters Right Now

Our kids are growing up in a world that’s changing faster than ever.

The jobs they’ll hold don’t exist yet.

The tools they’ll use haven’t been invented.

The problems they’ll solve haven’t been named.

AI can measure skills.
Schools can measure performance.
But only you can help your child recognize calling.

Repeat + Resist + Reach gives you a simple lens to interpret the behaviors that reveal who they’re becoming – not just what they’re doing.

Here’s What I Know to Be True

Every child has a unique set of God-given gifts.

Not general “good at school” or “good with people” skills.
Specific. Purposeful. Divinely designed wiring.

And those gifts often show up first as curiosity – the things they love to do “just because.”

The real question is: are we paying attention?

Because if we are, we’ll find that God has already started the conversation about their future – and He’s using their interests to do it.

What Comes Next

If you’ve ever wished your child had more confidence, clearer direction, or a better sense of who they are, the Dream Unlock Challenge was created for you.

In just 5 days, your child will discover their God-given strengths, identify what makes them unique, and learn how to use their creativity, interests, and natural wiring to build something real.
And you’ll finally have a simple framework to understand the patterns you’ve been noticing – or missing.

We designed this challenge for kids ages 8–16 who:

1. struggle to name what they’re good at
2. bounce from interest to interest without clarity
3. shrink back because they’re afraid to be “wrong”
4. get lost in comparison at school or online
5. have big ideas but no structure or confidence to use them

And for parents who want:

1. practical tools for recognizing their child’s gifts
2. language to help their child feel seen and understood
3. a way to nurture confidence that lasts
4. a shared experience that builds connection, not pressure
5. a trusted path that brings purpose and fun together

Through live workshops, creative activities, and our signature gamified interactive learning experience, your child will walk away with:

✨ A clear Dream Type profile
✨ A personalized Superpower Statement
✨ Their first business idea and direction
✨ A one-page plan they can actually follow
✨ A renewed sense of identity, confidence, and capability

The Dream Unlock Challenge isn’t about pushing kids – it’s about revealing what God already placed inside them and giving them the structure to grow.

If you’re ready for your child to discover who they are, what they love, and what they can build…
join the waitlist below.