Ditch the Negativity: 12 Ways to Raise Kids Full of Hope and Optimism
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In a world where pessimism seems to be on the rise, cultivating optimism has emerged as an essential quality and a purposeful pursuit for parents. The prevalent negative forces in contemporary society often tempt individuals to embrace cynicism effortlessly. Despite these challenges, successful parenting requires a concerted effort to foster optimism in our children, aiming to mold a positive perspective on life.
Optimism is a key ingredient in raising successful individuals. How, then, do we ensure our children have a positive outlook on the world despite prevailing circumstances?
1. Listen To Them
Life comes with its fair share of frustrations, and a child needs to know that they have the support of their parent at the drop of a hat. Having someone listen without judgment is one of life’s underrated hacks.
Let your children grow up knowing that their concerns are important to you, and it’s never an inconvenience when they seek your audience.
2. Offer Due Praise For Little Successes
Whether they solved a simple math problem or learned to pick up after themselves, applaud your child’s little efforts and successes. Failure to acknowledge little accomplishments makes the child think that success or hard work is unnecessary.
Choose tasks for them that they can accomplish according to their ability and encourage independence.
3. Make Happiness Normal
Happiness doesn’t have to be a one-time weekend event where everyone gets to have fun before the family resorts to the default settings of grumpiness.
Children need to experience a daily happy environment to thrive. Although sad days come, the child will know that these are normal parts of life, but they aren’t THE life.
4. Be Patient And Fun In Your Teaching
The tasks you see as simple are very complicated for little hands and feet. It may look like “just tying shoes,” but it’s a complex art of loops and knots for the child.
Put ease and humor in learning new skills and daily tasks. A successful individual is one who sees work as fun and not as a punishment.
5. Be Truthful Always
Children are young, not dumb. When explaining a difficult or painful concept, be honest while exercising discretion.
Children will be faced with less-than-ideal situations, and lying to them about the workings of the world doesn’t help them. Get them ready for the world so that they will succeed in any situation.
6. Be A Role Model
A do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do attitude will not cut it when it comes to raising thriving children. You have to model the character you want to see in your children.
You cannot raise patient children when they see you running red rights and cursing other drivers on the road.
7. Show Love
Love is the language of the heart. It will not matter how much discipline and optimism you instill in children, if they don’t feel that it’s all coming from a place of love, then the lesson is lost.
Some parents erroneously give ‘tough love,’ thinking it’ll breed resilience, but a child needs a loving, safe environment to thrive.
8. Expect Them To Excel
A child lives up to the parents’ expectations when they can tell they [the children] are considered smart and likely to excel. Don’t be too quick to offer help if they seem to be having trouble with a given task.
When a child is expected to excel, they will put more effort into proving their worth and intelligence.
9. Show The Positive Side Of Life
Troubles will come occasionally, and you may want to avoid a “we’re doomed” attitude with your children.
A child with a healthy mind needs to see the sunny side of life, even in the murkiest of situations. Charity begins at home, but so does optimism.
10. Refrain from Complaining All The Time
A child’s mind is a typical garbage in-garbage out machine. They will reflect and talk back about the things they hear regularly. If your default settings are seeing how bad the world is and how worse it will get, you will not succeed in raising optimistic kids.
Develop an attitude of gratitude, and let your child[ren] see you make the best of a bad situation with a smile on your face. You can cuss in private later, but remember to make the optimism real even for you.
11. Teach Them to Filter
Part of optimism is not letting negativity creep in from all corners. Help them understand that they can choose what they consume and also lead by example.
12. Educate Them in Self-care
We all have our mental limits, learning to recognize when it’s time for a break or reset is an important life skill for all ages to get out of slumps more effectively.
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