A Positive Attitude is the Best Gift you can give your Child

“Please God, let nothing bad ever happen to my child. Let my child never know any sorrow or unhappiness.” Every parent, sometime or the other, says this prayer for their child. But we all know that life consists of both joys and sorrows. And though we would always like protect our children, there will come a time when our little ones will have to live their own life and face whatever challenges it brings.

• As parents, our biggest responsibility is to prepare our child for life – Physically, mentally and emotionally. In order to ensure that our child becomes a successful human being, the first thing we can do is to gift our child with a positive attitude.

• A positive attitude is comprised of many qualities. The first is self-esteem. By respecting your child’s feelings and by valuing his individual qualities, you imbue your child with a feeling of self worth. His self-confidence also increases when you encourage your child to explore his abilities and appreciate his little achievements and efforts. Don’t same him or publicly criticize him if he errs.

• Don’t overprotect or shield your child from negatives. Don’t give him soothing lies when he needs to hear the truth. If an injection is going to hurt, tell him so. If you can’t buy what he wants, say that you cannot afford it. If a family member is ill, then explain it to him. If there is a fight between the parents, let him know the situation so that he doesn’t feel needlessly guilty or insecure.

• Teach your child to be flexible. Life is not always fair. Sometimes people can get hurt through no fault of their own. Sometimes even hard work does not bear fruit. Teach him to take things in his stride, to have the courage to change what he can and the strength to accept what he can’t.

• Instill in him the spirit to “always do your best”. What is even more important than winning is making your best effort. Success and failure are secondary. If he does not succeed at something, encourage him to try again. The standards he must reach are the ones he sets for himself.

A positive attitude means not bowing to the fear of failure. It means continuing to make fresh effort. To take life as it comes and being comfortable with what you are. It means not stagnating in your failures and mistakes but moving on with buoyant spirits to the next stage in life. If you succeed in instilling a positive attitude in your child, then you have succeeded in being the best possible parents.