At times, everyone feels a little depressed about life, and children are no exception. Just like you, children often experience “the same old grind.” They get up for school, day care, or camp to travel the same road each weekday. Some children even look forward to weekends in the same way their parents do.
How can you put some excitement into life and teach your child to be successful? Sometimes, parents have to be spontaneous and break the routine up a bit for “family time.” Make it a point to eat together and spend quality time doing new things.
Never say negative things about your life or how boring life is for you. Children can really tune into this, and they always copy their parents. They reflect negative thinking and can hold themselves back by worrying about the risk of failure, just like an adult. Instead, teach them about the endless opportunities that arise in every day life.
Life is full of challenges, and your child has to learn to overcome the fear of failure. This is where you come in – by measuring your child’s progress. You should always point toward his, or her, past successes for positive reinforcement.
Remember the story of the “Tortoise and the Hare?” Teach your child that slow and steady always finishes the race. As an adult, you know that finishing anything is a “bench mark” along the road to progress. A child will give up on a challenge, when they are too far out of their “comfort zone.”
Giving up is a last resort. For example: Look down the road at the many challenges your child will face in college, military service, or at work. You want to establish a “track record” of success now.
Even when challenges and problems have your child in a state of fear, you are obligated to encourage your child to move forward and do their “personal best.” Every successful person has had to face their own fear, in order to see the endless daily opportunities that life has to offer.
Teach your child that life is full of excitement – by making the choices of exploring and trying new things, as long as they are reasonably safe activities. The experience of learning is more important than the chance of failure.
The end result will be that your child has positive memories of accomplishment, and the knowledge that he or she can always count on you.
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher.
