Interview with Mandela Patrick Squash Player and Budding Scholar

Listening to Mandela shows he is a good example of perseverance and hard work to be able to achieve. So it was no surprise that he was accepted by Harvard University to study Information Technology.

Mandela knows his priorities and considers achieving a good academic education demonstrative of the qualities of discipline and achievement, the same qualities needed to be an outstanding Squash player.   He acknowledges his father for the key role in played his development and helping to chart a positive direction for their family.

He listed some of his father’s contributions to his development and said that his father was instrumental in helping him build self confidence, develop a strong and effective vocabulary as well as prepare him for dealing with the realities and harness of the world.

His father plays a crucial role in his development and their family dynamics. He has direct impact on their well-being.

A father brings unique contributions to the job of parenting a child that no one else can replicate. Some of the most compelling ways that a father’s involvement makes a positive difference in a child’s life as in the case of Mandela’s are as follows:

●             He builds confidence by encouraging and pushes his limits.         

●             He communicates differently by challenging him to expand his vocabulary and linguistic skills – an important building block of academic success.

●             He prepares his children for the real world – he is an involved Dad that helps his children see that attitude and behaviours have consequences. For example, fathers are more likely than mothers to tell their children that if they are not nice to others, kids will not want to play with them. Or, if they don’t go to school, they will not get into a good college or secure a desirable career.

Father’s help children prepare for the reality and harshness of the world.