Parents want their children to be successful, healthy and happy. That often means providing the best education they can, encouraging quality friendships and being supportive when a child may need some extra guidance.
Although there is no magic formula to guide children toward becoming the best versions of themselves, here are steps that parents and other caregivers can take to promote youngsters’ personal growth:
• Respond to children’s sounds and gestures. Early childhood development specialists say parents should stimulate baby talk and treat it as real conversation. Individuals should respond to baby’s gurgling and actions and engage throughout the day. As the child grows, responding to their words, questions and thoughts can help expand a child’s vocabulary and boost reading levels later in life.
• Help kids find their lanes. Parents may only know what they experienced and the paths they took. It is reasonable for mothers and fathers to want their children to follow in their footsteps, and sometimes parents push their kids into paths that do not fit. Helping kids find their niche requires trial and error, patience and even creativity. Eventually children will discover their passions, particularly when encouraged by their parents.
• Provide love and support, not criticism. Parents can be their kids’ biggest fans, but not at the cost of doing everything for them or shielding children from disappointment. They also should not be harsh critics. To help shape strong children who can grow and mature, parents have to find a balance between being supportive and watching every move and preventing any obstacle. Adversity can help kids grow.
• Share your own stories. Children may be embarrassed by struggles or failures and want to give up. One of the best ways parents can be supportive is by sharing stories of one’s own struggles and how they overcame them. Perhaps a parent can help a kid who is finding material in school challenging by telling a story about a poor test grade and how he or she needed tutoring, but was able to improve performance later on.
• Talk about mistakes that ultimately proved learning opportunities. Children may believe they have to be perfect at everything, and that can set them up for failure when they don’t accomplish every goal. Adults can offer an example of a mistake they made that helped them grow, such as getting stuck in foul weather on a hike because they didn’t check the weather and having to travel miles in wet shoes. That learning experience may have helped the adults be more mindful of being prepared for outdoor events.
• Make time for fun. Success doesn’t always come just from hard work. It also involves knowing when it is time to let loose and unwind with enjoyable activities. Then again, learning opportunities don’t always need to be chores. Learning through play and exploration also is possible.
Children can grow and develop positive traits with support from their parents.
