Summer is in full swing, and it’s county fair season! While watching several youth livestock shows over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself thinking about exactly how young people learn to do challenging things. Adults play an absolutely critical role in youth livestock projects, particularly for first time exhibitors. As young people get started in these projects, adults oversee not only the health and well-being of the animal, but also the safety and well-being of the child. Parents, project leaders, ag teachers, volunteers, livestock superintendents and even livestock judges are all in a position to utilize livestock projects to develop positive, caring relationships with young people.

In order for young exhibitors to develop their knowledge and skills about livestock throughout the years, it is critical that caring adults continually challenge their growth. Additionally, challenging growth can help promote the strength and resilience young people need to become thriving adults. The Search Institute tells us more about why challenging growth matters.

When working with young people, four key points help us understand exactly what it means to challenge growth:

• Expect my best— Expect me to live up to my potential.
• Stretch—Push me to go further.
• Reflect on failures— Help me learn from mistakes and setbacks.
• Hold me accountable—Insist I take responsibility for my actions.

It is important to remember that to be effective long-term, challenging growth can’t be done in isolation. It has to happen in a context of care so the young person does not feel that the challenge is entirely negative or that the adult dislikes them. The express care element of the  Developmental Relationships Framework provides some great strategies to use while challenging growth of a young person.

Challenging growth in young people is not easy; there is a fine line between pushing too hard and not pushing hard enough. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” approach to challenging growth! How we do this effectively varies depending on a multitude of factors including age, interest level, coordination, level of confidence, knowledge, skill level, and much more. Challenging growth requires caring adults to constantly ask the question, “What does this young person need from me at this point in time?” The answer is different every time!

We in the livestock industry have the perfect opportunity to develop caring relationships with young people throughout their childhoods while they are busy developing their animals! Challenging growth while expressing care for young livestock producers is an excellent place to start!