Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.
Our children will tend to replicate our ideas and attitudes to life as they grow. This can, of course, change as they get older and start thinking more independently. For instance, there was a time where LGBTQ youth were taught that living as they were was either not ideal or totally wrong, and it’s only the progressive and independent impressions of the youth that has managed to overturn this unwarranted vitriol on its head.
So, perhaps we hope our children continue to be better than us in many respects, especially considering how we all have blind spots and flaws as parents, no matter how hard we try. That said, it’s also true to say that teaching our children good life principles, lessons, and responsibilities can be a very healthy means of allowing them to grow and become better, more integrated people as they move into their teenage years and ultimately, adulthood.
But what are these life principles, and how can you teach them in a more grounded and gradual manner than simply sitting them down and going over ‘wisdom’ point by point? Let’s consider that, below:
Self-Expression Is Good
It’s good to teach children to feel comfortable in expressing themselves, be that learning how to ask questions in a teaching environment, to helping them curate their room provided they keep it tidy and clean. As they get older, this might involve allowing them to gain piercings at the proper age as well as selecting what they like from a piercing shop, or learning how to dress confidently without feeling the need to follow trends at all costs. The more confident your child can be in themselves, the more comfortable in their skin they will be.
Clean & Take Care Of Your Belongings
It’s healthy to teach a child how to take care of their belongings, and also how to clean them. Often, we can set this example by bringing them up in surroundings that are taken care of, also. For instance, keeping our car interiors clean can showcase the standard of how to take care of your possessions, and teaching them how to vacuum, dust and tidy their bedrooms once they turn ten can be very helpful. Little measures like this can, over time, reinforce worthwhile behaviors you most wish to see.
Ask For Help When You Need It
It’s healthy to ask help when you need it, that much is obvious. As adults, we can find ourselves struggling with that sometimes. Teaching our children that there’s no shame in going out there and asking for advice, or doing our best to help them understand that speaking to an authority figure when appropriate (such as when victimized by other children), can make a massive difference regarding their wellbeing. Asking for help when you need it will show your children that false pride or timidity is never really going to help, but being proactive and authentic about our needs will be.
With this advice, we hope you can nurture essential life lessons for our children, and perhaps learn something from them as part of that.
Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.
