Want to raise successful kids? We all do. But being a parent isn’t an easy job, and raising successful kids doesn’t happen on its own. It can be exhausting, and sometimes you think your words are going in one ear and out the other.
Yet, it certainly helps to know what you can do to increase the chances that your children will take the paths that will lead to health and happiness. Here are some tips to help you improve your kids’ abilities:
Let your kids figure out how to use their time:
Don’t structure every minute of their lives or prioritise safety and supervision over emotional and social development. Give your kids the chance to practise social skills like making friends and figuring out how to handle interpersonal problems.
Read to your kids properly:
This is very important, especially when they’re younger. The ability to read well is a valuable skill that positively affects your kid’s life. To improve your child’s reading ability, select reading material that will challenge him or her. Engage your child while reading. Read simultaneously with your child, and then have him read everything aloud a few moments later.
Ask him or her what will happen in the plot. If they’re too young for that, ask them to turn the pages for you. Read expressively and nearly every day, making sure your kid hears you.
Praise your kids correctly:
When you praise kids, praise them for their effort, not their abilities. If you praise your kids for their inborn intelligence, you’re praising them for something they had nothing to do with achieving and can’t do anything to improve. But when you praise them for their effort, you’re encouraging them to develop exactly the powers you want them to develop to be successful in life.
Protect the privacy of your children:
Be mindful regarding the oversharing of personal information concerning your kids or posting inappropriate photographs that could embarrass them on social networks. Teach them that not everything needs to be made public, especially since what goes online can stay there forever.
Develop your kids’ work ethic:
Ask them to do tasks, like doing the dishes, arranging the dining table, taking out the garbage, cleaning their rooms, and so on. By making them take responsibilities, they will realise that they have to do the work of life in order to be part of life.
Limit screen time for your kids of all ages:
Don’t let them have a television in their bedroom – there’s no need for yet another screen in your child’s space. One Canadian study has showed that children who had television in their bedrooms at the ages of four until 13 were more likely to have a higher body mass index, more unhealthy eating habits, and higher levels of emotional distress. They were also more prone to depressive symptoms, victimisation, physical aggression and lower levels of sociability.
Get involved with your kids’ education: Communicate regularly with teachers, attend school events, join parents’ groups and help with homework. Research conducted at the University of Missouri in the US has found that when parents are more involved in school, the benefits to their children grow over time. In addition to being less likely to have emotional or behavioural issues in class, students with engaged parents also ended the year with better social skills and were able to focus on tasks more easily.
Short link: