In some cultures, children are often told that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough. What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving children this message?

2023/10/09

In some cultures, children are often told that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough. 
What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving children this message?

Many IELTS candidates, in response to this question, write about:

Bad parenting – parents forcing children to do this or that
Adult life – forgetting that the task is about children 
Goal-setting or risk-taking – which is only one part of the task  
Children, working hard – which is basically against child labor law. 

Why do many IELTS Candidates do this, writing about anything but the task itself? The reason is that we do not invest enough time into understanding the question. Those who spend more time thinking about and playing with the question often come up with a clear response to all parts of the task. 

What is this task really about? 

The task includes a positive affirmation, saying the ONLY thing standing between a person and what they want is hard work and nothing more. Does this feel right? Or is it just me thinking this is a lousy idea? The only thing is hard work?! Seriously? 

The second thing the task says is that this message is OFTEN given to children. Who gives it? We do not know! Apparently, in SOME cultures, whenever parents, teachers, relatives, salespeople at the supermarket, or strangers on the streets see a child, they tell them that. It is a ridiculous world! In these cultures, children are being shaped or molded into a mindset. 

Now, what are the advantages and disadvantages of giving this ideology (as I call it) to children? To answer this question, we can imagine children NOT raised by this message in other cultures and see the difference. 

🔵Essentially, in advantages/disadvantages tasks, comparison can be very helpful in writing a good essay




Children raised with this attitude will be stronger-willed adults. Why? They believe the ONLY agent of change in life is hard work and nothing else. So, they treat every goal as something that can be achieved. Now, imagine someone without this mentality. Will they act like this? Also, these children grow up not learning the meaning of the impossible. What we call impossible is an invitation to action for them, whereas someone without this attitude might choose safer options, right? 

However, this can be negative. If the ONLY thing we need to succeed is hard work, what will happen to other criteria, such as genetics, talents, or money? Will future adults face disappointments? Also, what about quitting? Children are too young to examine an ideology, and they just adopt it, right? Giving them an ideology is as easy as giving them a lollipop (Do not give lollipops to children; it is bad for their teeth.). With this attitude, will they learn when to stop? Or will they suffer from a sense of inadequacy because they keep hitting the wall with their fist, hoping it will collapse? 


Has this been helpful? Honestly, this is the best I can do to help you in this hopeless life. I also wanted to give you a sample, but you and I both know that it is stupid. Sitting here watching people tearing my sample apart without even knowing what they are talking about is aggravating. I already silent-suffer enough. No, thank you!