Introduction
Children out of touch with their feelings and emotions are a time bomb waiting to go off.  Our prisons, borstals and institutions (of all kinds) are full, and kids as young as 11 are turning to alcohol and drugs. Where will it stop?

So little is being done to nurture the feelings and emotions of the young - many parents work full time, no kid wants to feel out of place amongst their peers and with divorce rates and single parent families so high, kids often only have one strong example to follow ... and that may not be the best one!

A child in touch with his/her feelings is going to be able to manage his/her behaviour far better, which will result in the child making a greater and better contribution to society.  It can make a world of difference.

If it makes sense to coach adults towards a better lifestyle, why not start earlier with kids as young as seven?

It's a fascinating time for education.  Things seem broadly to be going well.  Or so it might appear.  Just recently, you may have read reports that the overall pass rate at 'A' level increased by 0.2% to 96.2%. (source: The Department for Education and Skills)

You may have noticed various experts and politicians argue that the overall national improvements indicate a fall in standards, and that it is now much easier to pass and achieve the top grades than it was in the past.  So, with such apparent positive moves in the way we teach our children and the results they are achieving, I often wonder why:

* we have such an eternal and growing problem with youth unrest,
* we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe,
* we have an escalating drugs culture,
* STD are on the up and up,
* addictive illness is the increasing curse that it is,
* racism is becoming more intense,
* mental illness is on the increase,
* domestic violence is on the increase,
* children are committing suicide,
* bullying is on the increase, and
* burnout is the problem that it is.

I accept that the improvements in education may, with time, be mirrored by gradual improvements in our society. However, I am sceptical. But who am I to have an opinion, I hear you ask!

My name is Alan Wilson, and I am a Life Coach.  I specialize in coaching children. And I mean children of all ages.  And I do so because I have learned through a combination of personal and professional experience that, no matter how well educated someone might be, they may never be immune to the ravages of emotional and spiritual turmoil, scenarios that can rear their ugly heads unexpectedly at any stage of our wonderful but fragile existence.  And the consequences can be dire.

But what possible relevance might this have with education and the National Curriculum?

I believe that the National Curriculum, despite the apparent improvements in standards and results, ignores some of the most fundamental and vital skills and processes that could set a child up for life.  What sets one child apart from another in terms of ability to achieve in life, and make a valid and important contribution to society, goes way beyond academic education. And herein lay the crux of the matter. Whilst we are improving our standards of academic achievement, we continually ignore other, perhaps more critical life-skills.  The National Curriculum may be on track for academic progress (who am I to suggest otherwise), but it goes nowhere near adequately addressing fundamentals such as:

a. A detailed examination of values and their importance
b. The importance of 'attitude' and its effect on performance and personal well-being
c. Feelings
d. Relationship building
e. Self-image
f. Self-esteem
g. Negotiating skills
h. Team-working and Group behavioural dynamics
i. Envisioning
j. Goal-setting and its importance
k. Dream-working and creativity
l. Spiritedness and vitality
m. Identification and nurture of ones personal passion.

There are vital processes and exercises that can be taught, enjoyed and practised on a regular basis, all of which have been proven to lead to dramatic personal transformation and achievement beyond our wildest dreams.
Let's just look at one simple example in isolation – the production of written goals. 

In a study at Yale University in the 1950's, students were interviewed and subsequently followed up 20 years after graduation in order to identify attributes that resulted in substantial success.  It was quite clear that around 3% of the students had achieved far greater success than the remaining 97% - astonishingly, the 3% in fact reported earnings that exceeded the other 97% combined!  And this achievement was not limited to their financial status – it extended to their personal and family lives, their social well-being and to their health.  With such amazing statistics, the researchers set about identifying those attributes shared by the 3% that might set them apart from the rest. And they showed that what set them apart was the fact that the 3% had identified and formed specific goals, had written them down, and then re-visited them regularly so as to ensure they were consistently on the track to their achievement.

Now that's not in the National Curriculum.  And it's only one of a very large number of life-skills that can and should be taught - and can be done so from early childhood.

I want my daughter to know about the value of written goals. I would suggest that all loving parents would want their children to know about them too.  I couldn't find anyone to show my daughter skills like these, so I set about teaching her myself.  But we are all leading incredibly busy and often stressful lives and unfortunately find it very difficult to devote enough quality time to our children, quite apart from academic support.  So to add the need to examine the sorts of skills not catered for in the National Curriculum is, for most of us, simply impossible.  Until now that is.

Developyourchild.co.uk is a website/resource to enable the holistic development of children. Our vision and passion is to help children globally. Our goal is the creation of a range of programmes that enable children of all ages and levels of development to go much, much further. We are absolutely committed to extending both children and the facilitators who deliver the programmes. We know that we offer proven, practical and inexpensive programmes. We know that you would want your child(ren) to be given the foundation and platform from which to leap forward and achieve their wildest dreams and maximum potential in life.

We can help you in your quest to support your child and his/her development in the best possible way.  We also want them to maximise their chances of:

* reaching their full potential,
* living their dreams,
* contributing to society in important and meaningful ways,
* gaining personal fulfillment and personal power, and
* ensuring lasting self-esteem.

We know that if they do, then our society will benefit as a whole. And eventually, as a result, our world might start to become the better place it truly deserves to be.

So if it's not in the National Curriculum, please don't ignore it.  It just might be the difference between Maidstone United and Manchester United to your child.
Alan Wilson is the Founder of Develop Your Child Ltd and the author of "Listen To Your Children and They Will Listen To You". He has successfully adapted life coaching and related techniques to build self-esteem and confidence in children, young people and parents.

(c) Alan Wilson. All Rights Reserved.