My best parenting advice

Having an 18-year-old daughter with a doctorate is both “humbling” and “inspiring,” says Jimalita Tillman.

She is the mother of Dorothy Jean Tillman II, a Chicago teenager who last year earned a doctorate in integrated behavioral health from Arizona State University. The younger Tillman was just 17 at the time, the latest in a string of academic achievements, including a bachelor's degree at age 12 and a master's degree in environmental science at 14, both online.

“I even consider her an inspiration for the things I do in my everyday life,” Jimalita told CNBC Make It.

Jimalita, a single mother who began homeschooling her daughter around age 7, has done much to facilitate these accomplishments. She recognized early on that her daughter possessed an inordinate curiosity and zeal for learning that set her apart from many other children, she said.

Her best advice for other parents: Follow your child's lead when they show you what they're interested in and passionate about, and let them teach you.

“In the beginning, what was important was allowing him to lead and teach me things, even if I already knew them,” Tillman says.

According to research, children can develop a deeper understanding of topics and become more personally engaged when they have the opportunity to teach it to someone else, whether it's a parent or a friend. 'a pair.

For Jimalita, that meant showing a clear interest in the topics her daughter was passionate about. She asked lots of questions and gave Dorothy Jean a platform to explain the concepts she was learning.

“Never mind [subject] she was interested in it, I would be interested in it and allow her to teach me, which boosted her own confidence and the things she knew. And then [it left her] I want to know more,” says Jimalita.

Dorothy Jean was quickly homeschooled, learning high school subjects by age 8. A year later, she took college-level courses online at the College of Lake County, where she earned an associate's degree in psychology at age 10.

“Initially, she loved how the mind works and how people interact with each other,” says Jimalita. “It was really her wondering why adults do what they do.”

Growing up, Dorothy Jean often spent time with a group of home-schooled students, and Jimalita noticed early on how much her daughter enjoyed sharing what she was learning with others.

“It was not only her love for learning, but she loved experimenting and sharing new things with other children and other people,” Jimalita says. “Half the battle of learning new things is: Can you learn it well enough to teach it?”

Another part of the battle: social skills. Dorothy Jean's advanced classes and busy schedule caused her to miss typical teenage experiences like homecoming or spirit week. Jimalita tried to make up for it by regularly hosting Dorothy Jean's friends for group vacations and study sessions, especially after most schools were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.

The outgoing teen recently attended her best friend's prom, she told The New York Times last month.

Encouraging Dorothy Jean to teach her peers also helped her leadership skills flourish, Jimalita says. In 2020, Dorothy Jean launched the Dorothy Jeanius STEAM Leadership Institute, which provides educational programs in STEM and arts subjects for Black youth in Chicago. Now that she has completed her doctorate, she will spend part of this summer teaching at that organization, her mother said.

“I want her to be able to work toward what she sees as a vision of peace,” Jimalita says. “I want her to be able to speak, share her story and impact more people… She really enjoys it.”

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