Future-Proof Your Child For The 2020s And Beyond
How to parent in disruptive times
Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s and Beyond is an invaluable guide for parents who wish to create realistic and relevant parenting goals that will set their children up to thrive, no matter what awaits them in the future. It is aimed at anyone involved in raising children primarily from birth to age twelve, including grandparents, educators, support teams and extended family. However, it remains an insightful handbook for those with teens too.
‘Mommy, Daddy, what should I be when I grow up?’ This is the question every child asks when they begin to develop a sense of the future, and it’s never been harder for parents to answer it than now. This century is characterised by disruptive change that is turning our world upside down. Jobs aren’t just changing, but whole industries are ceasing to exist. The scripts for success and failure are being rewritten on a daily basis in our families, at work and in life. Do parents know who and what their children need to be, let alone what they might be able to do, in the future world of work?
This book doesn’t just paint a picture of what the future might hold, but provides frameworks and practical advice for what parents can do today in order to build solid foundations for their children in order to maximise their chances of success. Children who are equipped with the right sets of skills, attitudes and world views will remain relevant and able to take advantage of future opportunities.
Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s and Beyond is an invaluable guide for parents who wish to create realistic and relevant parenting goals that will set their children up to thrive, no matter what awaits them in the future. It is aimed at anyone involved in raising children primarily from birth to age twelve, including grandparents, educators, support teams and extended family. However, it remains an insightful handbook for those with teens too.
The Authors
Nikki Bush
A sought-after parenting speaker, author and media personality. She is well known for her trusted, independent opinion on parenting and child development, both in South Africa and overseas. Her bestselling titles include Future-proof Your Child: Parenting the Wired Generation (with Graeme Codrington), Easy Answers to Awkward Questions and Tech-Savvy Parenting. Nikki is a mom of two boys.
Graeme Codrington
A futurist and strategy consultant, focusing on the future of work. He has worked in nearly 100 countries with some of the world’s largest companies and best business schools, helping them prepare for tomorrow’s world today. His bestselling titles include Future-proof Your Child: Parenting the Wired Generation (with Nikki Bush), Mind the Gap and Leading in a Changing World. Graeme is a dad of three girls.
Book Reviews
Current global disruption and the pace of change have everyone questioning the type of future that our children face. In their book Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s and Beyond, Nikki and Graeme provide a framework for parenting that penetrates the negative forecasts, presents possibility, and also helps parents to guide their children into being fully human and skilled to thrive in any future.
Deanne King
Head of School, St Mary’s School, Waverley, Johannesburg
Andile Mazwai, Governor: National Stokvels Association of South Africa –
Nikki and Graeme have taken the fear and confusion out of the future. Their updated book, [Future-proof your Child], is an indispensable guidebook that makes future a place of wonder and adventure.
Deanne King, Head of School, St Mary’s School, Waverley, Johannesburg –
Current global disruption and the pace of change have everyone questioning the type of future that our children face. In their book Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s and Beyond, Nikki and Graeme provide a framework for parenting that penetrates the negative forecasts, presents the possibility, and also helps parents to guide their children into being fully human and skilled to thrive in any future.
David Livermore, PhD, Thought Leader on Cultural Intelligence and Global Leadership –
Far too many books about the future are alarmist or naive. Nikki Bush and Graeme Codrington avoid either extreme. As leading global experts on parenting and future trends, they offer us a book that is immensely inspiring, practical, and something anyone working with Gen Z and Millennials needs to read.
Mike Thobejane, Headmaster, Iphutheng Primary School, Alexandra –
This book should be the treasure that every household keeps. It gives adults ideas on how to start endless conversations with fellow parents and children. It reminds us to accept change and to adapt. It is a book that can be used by parents and professionals from any background who are raising children for the future and need to be skilful, creative and critical thinkers.
Brendan Grant, Headmaster, South African College High School (SACS), Cape Town –
Building on the success of their first edition, Nikki and Graeme’s new book offers real and fascinating insights into the dynamically changing world we and our children will inhabit over the next 10 years. As an educator, I appreciate the sensible advice given to parents on schools and schooling. As a parent, I value the heads-up on what’s coming our way. The book is written for the ultimate benefit of our children, and that is its great strength.
Phemelo Motene, Broadcaster and Media Consultant –
If you are anxious about your child’s future … this is the book for you. The answers are all here. The best parenting book I have read in a long time. Nikki and Graeme’s world-class insights have been put to great use.
Prof. Nicola Kleyn, Dean, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria –
It’s remarkable how much time and energy we invest in learning to be relevant in the workplace and the comparatively small investment that most of us make to prepare for parenthood. Whilst values may endure, the spaces and places we need to create for our children to learn to thrive in a changing world have shifted dramatically. Nikki and Graeme’s updated version of their bestselling book provides an invaluable perspective into the roles we need to play, not just as parents to our own children, but as guardians tasked to ensure the well-being of future generations.
Kubeshini Govender, Chief Education Specialist and Innovator, Special Projects, Western Cape Education Department –
This book articulates the realities of a new world order – politically, socially and economically – while providing a compass for courageous conversations and a map for just that! It is a must-have in every home and for every educator.
Prof. Loyiso Nongxa, former Vice-Chancellor and Principal and Emeritus Professor, School of Mathematics, University of the Witwatersrand –
It is never too early to begin thinking about our children and grandchildren’s future careers and the studies that will prepare them for it. Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s and Beyond is the guidebook you need to help you prepare your children for the future right from the start. The authors provide valuable insights based on research, their work with young people, in schools and in the business world, and from their own experiences as parents.
Andy Bounds, Bestselling Author of Top Dog: Impress and influence everyone you meet, and creator of www.andyboundsonline.com –
Brilliant. I read this book and immediately bought loads of them to give to my friends who are parents. It’s the book I’d been searching for. A must-read for every parent. It will change your children’s lives.
Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean and Director, Henley Business School, Africa –
Two global citizens out of Africa have built a book of worldwide relevance to parents, educators and leaders. As a parent of two children of 13 and 15, I found every page resonates and gently provokes. Helpful, relevant, readable and compassionate, a book for life and living with.
Dr Michael Mol, TV Presenter and Producer, Founding Director of Hello Doctor –
As a parent, I’m okay with being uncool and out of date – but I’m not okay with being uninformed and out of touch! Which is why I’m so stoked about Nikki and Graeme’s updated antidote to ignorance. You’re holding in your hands a parental prescription for future preparedness that you probably didn’t know you needed – so hold tight, hold on, and finish the whole course – because no one is immune to what tomorrow might bring.
Dr Sally James, Head of St Stithians Girls’ College –
This is a book that parents and educators have been waiting and hoping for! Bush and Codrington have skilfully blended their personal experiences of parenting and raising young people with their expertise around change
and future worlds into a practical and sensible read. Links to online resources and video inserts further extend the conversation as to how to raise children and navigate the landscape of a disruptive world. This book is mandatory
reading for anyone raising or working with young people in today’s complex world.