Guest article from ripped.me
Every parent wants to provide their kids with a childhood that will help them grow up into successful adults. But with so many bad influences around and false parenting tips, it can be a little hard to know what to do as a parent. So, if you find yourself confused, here are some good ways you can prepare your kids for a happy and successful life:
Have good conversations
As you probably know, kids are curious and want to know everything about everything. This will result in millions of questions—some you can and some you can’t answer. But, make sure to be honest and patient with your kids. If you don’t know an answer to their questions, tell them so and take your time to learn something else, or even better, learn about it together. Always listen carefully when your kid is telling you their stories and have patience even when they are not coherent. Kids who know that healthy conversations exist and know how to listen and be heard usually do better in school.
Encourage learning
Kids who grew up in environments that encourage learning usually advance faster in school and find education easier than kids who didn’t grow up in knowledge-nurturing environments. So, it’s important to show your kids that learning is good, fun and not a chore or a punishment. For instance, you can take time out of your day to tell your kid (or read to them) about fun subjects like nature, animals, plants or space. Also, you can have regular family field trips to your local farm, animal shelter, botanic garden or space center and learn about things first-hand. This will help your kids perceive learning as fun and pleasant instead of stressful, paving the road towards academic and work success.
Provide them with good education
Encouraging learning without sufficient opportunities to do so will not yield any results. So, make sure to find good schools and preschools for your child where they can acquire new experiences and learn plenty of things. Early English lessons are especially important if you’re not a native speaker. The ability to communicate with peers and people of authority is very important, so sign up your kid for fun Trinity courses that will teach them how to use language and grammar and how to talk in accurate and fluent sentences. They will also get an opportunity to socialize with peers and learn about how other kids live.
Make chores obligatory
No matter what you choose to assign to your kid—mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, setting the table, walking the dog—kids need to have chores. They will hate them, that’s for sure, but make sure not to ease up. Chores teach kids what hard work is and that everyone in society has a role to play if they want to enjoy luxuries. It teaches responsibility and even collaboration (when all family members work together, you have a happy and clean household).
Praise them correctly
Whenever your kids achieve a good academic score or win a sports trophy, they deserve to be praised. However, instead of telling them that they are smart and talented, it’s better to praise their hard work and dedication. Praising kids for innate qualities can be problematic once they try something for the first time and fail—they might not want to try again. It’s much smarter to encourage effort which will help them understand growth and give them the confidence to continue trying even when things don’t go their way.
Teach them to ask for help
Being an attentive parent that listens to their child has many benefits, one of which is letting your child know they have valid opinions and that their questions will be answered. This also shows them that in case they need help, they can ask and get it in most cases. If your kid thinks they need to do everything alone, failing will have devastating effects on their self-esteem. They will also rather give up than ask for help and succeed. So teaching kids how to ask for help properly is a very important skill to provide.
Aside from encouraging learning, listening and responsibility, you should also be a loving parent that provides kids with plenty of hugs, cuddles, kisses and kind words. This behavior will provide kids with just the right balance they need to become stable and successful adults.