Teach Your Children Life Lessons - 7 Life Tips All Children Need to Learn
Kids today can learn to lead a happy and full life if they are taught to adjust to what life hands them. Here are seven important things to make sure you teach your children.
Life has ups and downs. Not every day is going to go your way. Learn to get through the bad times. We accomplish this lesson by praising them when they succeed at something and encouraging them when they struggle. If you were not encouraged as a child, this will seem alien at first. But, after a few attempts, you will feel more comfortable with it - and your children will show improvement.
Parents are there to teach you how to take care of yourself. NOT to indulge you in every way. We accomplish this lesson by setting boundaries. A boundary does not tell another person what to do. A boundary tells another person what you will do if they continue to do something that makes you uncomfortable. "Stop talking back to me." is not a boundary. A boundary would be: "I don't like it when you talk back to me in that tone of voice. The next time you do it, I will take away your tv privileges."
We are entitled to life - only life. What happens with that life is up to you. Don't expect everything handed to you on a silver platter. One important lesson we can teach our children is "an attitude of gratitude". Teach them to say "please" and "thank you". This is just one little step in teaching our children that life is give and take.
Respect others. This means everyone - not just people who can give you what you want. The easiest way to teach children respect is to display it. Show them that we respect them. Show them that we respect others - even those less fortunate than ourselves.
Bad things happen when you don't follow the rules. Today's kids might know the rules, but most also know that nothing bad happens when you break the rules. Again, work on understanding boundaries. And, when you set a boundary - follow through.
There are disappointments in life. When we were kids, we had many unhappy days, but each one was a learning experience that taught us how to move on. Now, we are successful and happy. Had we NOT learned how to deal with disappointment, we would be wandering around wondering why the world was picking on us. It hurts us to see our children disappointed, but if we don't teach them to deal with those disappointments, they will never learn to brush themselves off and succeed the next time. If your child is disappointed because they lost a race, encourage them by pointing out how much they've improved. Let them know that they can try again and again.
Failing is a part of life. When we learn to deal with failure as a child, it becomes an obstacle that can be conquered - not a concrete wall. Children that are given the opportunity to fail - and then supported and shown how to try again, grow up self confident and able to do anything. When my children fail at something, I often share my own failures with them. I assure them that the failures did hurt. But they did not stop me from continuing. We can acknowledge the failure and then pain - and then move on to try again.
If parents aren't teaching the hard knocks of life to their kids, we face a future of self-entitled adults who wonder why nothing works for them. They won't be able to deal with marriage or competition in the work place. They will have a hard time dealing with life's daily disappointments. Teach your children how to deal with life's daily stumbling blocks and you create a self confident individual who can accomplish anything.
Article source: www.parentclass.net
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