5 ways to help your child to develop a positive attitude
5 ways to help your child to develop a positive attitude
Having a positive attitude towards life is one of the most important qualities for a successful individual. It is a quality that most of us recognize but know that it’s hard to have, especially when the world around us seems to be filled with constant troubles.
As parents, you must understand that a positive attitude would help in your child’s healthy development and increases his potential for learning, growing, and moving forward in life to accomplish their own goals. We are here to help you do just that. Here are 5 tried and proven tips compiled just for you.
1. Set an example
Every parent understands how it feels to have their child do something seemingly “out of character” and wonder…where did he/she pick it up from? Or when you are doing household chores or preparing to go to work, and they picked that exact time on purpose to break something. It can be increasingly frustrating, and it would be easy for you to snap at them. This is how not to set an example.
Children are exceptionally good observers. They watch how you react to stress. They watch how you treat difficult people. They watch how you react when you are happy or sad. All the mannerisms they picked up are most probably what they have seen from the people around them. So, choose to have a positive attitude, and put it on display!
2. See the best in each other
Congratulate and encourage your child when they accomplish something! Be specific about it. Specific encouragement helps to build your child’s confidence and helps them identify and celebrate their achievements. For example, “Good Job!” doesn’t tell them much about what they did well but saying “Good Job! I really appreciate your help!” does. This is one of the magical techniques teachers have been using for ages and now you can learn to do that too, in your own home.
This rings true especially if your child fails to do something. When your son or daughter sighs and says, “I can’t do it, I’m bad at it”. Just smile and say, “You just need more practice, it’s ok, let’s do it together”. Even as adults, we can be intelligent and still fail sometimes. We just need to remember that it is completely normal and part and parcel of life.
3. Stop saying, ''No''
We don’t mean that you should be saying “Yes” all the time but rather to avoid the word “no” as much as possible. Children hear it all the time, at home and in school. Simply saying “No, Brandon!” does not tell him anything about what he is doing wrong specifically and only that he should stop doing anything. “Brandon, we finish our food first before playing,” tells him that it’s right to finish his food first before playing.
Children are very intelligent; they can pick up what you approve and disapprove of when they can link reasons to why they should be doing something or not do something. It helps Brandon think twice before picking up his toys when he still has food in his mouth in this case. There have already been numerous studies on how the two-letter word “no”, causes our brains to release dozens of stress-producing chemicals and neurotransmitters that create havoc with our normal functions. It is important to choose your words wisely, there may be a better way to make your point.
4. Acknowledge when bad things happen
Because your child will. Don’t dismiss the negative parts of their lives. Think of your children as a person, just like you, but a smaller one. They would want someone to listen to their troubles and talk to them about them just like you do. Listen to them and feel with them. “It’s okay, I know it hurts.” “Don’t worry, later it won’t be painful already”. Even as adults, we often have a hard time coping with our feelings and choose to ignore them instead of addressing them so it is natural to feel awkward or uncomfortable when others share theirs.
What may seem like something small and “not a big deal” to you is, to a five-year-old, yes, a very big deal. Ask them questions instead of telling them how to feel. We can’t choose our feelings but we can learn and teach our children how to react to them.
5. Make your home a positive place
Before bedtime, each night, laugh and have fun with your children. Make sure that they aren’t doing any chores like picking up toys or making the bed or doing homework. Your home should be their happy and safe space. Like us, they need a place to feel safe and comfortable. That way they will always return home after a bad day in school because they know that it’s a place where they can seek comfort in. It really goes down to how you want your house to be, a place where your children feel safe to share their opinions and feelings with you or a place they would choose to avoid.
This affects your relationship with them in the long term as they grow up to become much more independent and opinionated individuals.
These five tips would help to give your child the power to stay positive in life regardless of what difficult times they face. We cannot predict the disappointments or failures they face in the future but we can help them to recognize their mistakes and react to them by staying positive. One day when your child fails at something, you would want them to tell themselves, “Hey it’s okay, we can try again” and not dwell on it. If this is something they already do by themselves, you’ve been a great parent.
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Every parent understands how it feels to have their child do something seemingly “out of character” and wonder…where did he/she pick it up from? Or when you are doing household chores or preparing to go to work, and they picked that exact time on purpose to break something. It can be increasingly frustrating, and it would be easy for you to snap at them. This is how not to set an example.
Mulberry Learning prides itself on making the preschool experience both memorable and enjoyable while transforming a child into a competent explorer, an imaginative thinker, and a creative problem solver. Through our proprietary award-winning curriculum, unique Habits of Mind programme and dedicated staff who are passionate about imparting positive attitudes, Mulberry Learning holds strong in its promise to deliver a holistic education that nurtures the Future Ready Child.
A PREMIUM PRESCHOOL BRAND UNDER GLOBAL EDUHUB