5 ESSENTIAL LIFE LESSONS TO TEACH YOUR CHILD
One of the best gifts a parent can give their child is the life lessons they have learnt throughout their life.
Parents have this amazing power to instil great values from the very beginning of their children’s life.
Invaluable life lessons paired with good example are definitely going to set a solid foundation to a life of good values and principles.
Responsibility
Teaching responsibility at home
Home and family lays the foundation for sense of responsibility in children.
Being responsible for their actions is something we need to train our kids for. Gentle reminders can be used to reinforce this important life lesson.
Ex: If you get ready soon, we can go to kinder in time.
If you pack up your toys after every time you play, they won’t get lost.
We need to show them that being responsible benefits us in everyway.
Socially responsible
However, it’s not just about us. We need to be socially responsible as well regardless it benefits us or not.
Ex: If you are sick, you stay home until you are better.
If there’s a hazard in the park, you let a grown up know and remove it so that no one gets hurt.
Discuss how we can dispose our household waste responsibly. You can make a chart, which colour bin for which waste and display for them to see. This is a good learning experience for them where they can take responsible decisions in everyday life.
Parallel to the sense of responsibility, there is a sense of duty. Having said that , I think your own conscience is above all these learnings.
If we can raise children who are conscientious, who know what is right or what is wrong, and stand up for the right, we actually have done an amazing job as parents.
Kindness
They say “Kindness is a superpower” and it truly IS a superpower.
Choosing kindness over all other options is something that can change the world we live in.
We can encourage our children to be kind in different situations.
To start with, we can teach them to be kind when it’s super easy to be kind.
ex:
- Helping a friend who is hurt.
- Giving a hug to a crying friend.
- Offering food to an animal.
Being Kind In real Life
But in real life, kindness is not as easy as it seems. It involves varied social situations and our emotions and make it a bit complicated for us.
Ex: A friend who is NOT very nice to your child has a fall and breaks his arm. Now he may need some help from his friends to do everyday tasks until he gets better. Choosing to be kind, despite all the unpleasant memories about that child, is something that can change the world.
Teach your kids that kindness is NOT optional. It’s mandatory. We have to be kind to each other even when we are angry, sad, hurt and so on. Not just when we are in a perfectly happy mood.
But maintaining that consistency is easier said than done. It requires a lot of practice and guidance.
I have noticed my daughter gets a bit rough with her little brother and doesn’t like to cooperate when she is exhausted after a long day.
As much as I understand exhaustion is overwhelming for young kids or anybody for that matter, I am trying to teach her that kindness needs to be consistent, no matter what state you are in.
5 simple lines you can use to help your child navigate their feelings in these situations,
- I know you are tired.
- Your little brother/sister can be a lot sometimes.
- But it’s never ok to hurt.
- You are sweet and kind ALL THE TIME. Even after a long tiring day.
- We can do a quiet time activity now and can go to sleep a bit earlier today.
Perseverance
Perseverance helps you work hard to achieve your goals even things get tough.
Something our children need to practise in order to succeed in life.
It is absolutely necessary for children to know that there’s no easy way to success. At least for long-term success.
So it’s a must we teach them the importance of hard work.
We have made an outdoor obstacle course that our kids love. Initially, it was so much hard work for them.
Running, climbing, crawling while evading all the obstacles was not very easy for them at that age.
But that was our little perseverance test for them. Yes it gets tiring, they struggle to climb down holding a rope in one hand, cloths gets messy, knees gets sore but they keep going at any cost.
Because we have told them not to lost focus and keep going no matter how hard it gets. Because the feeling of satisfaction after the completion of a strenuous task is just priceless. Worth all the trouble we take.
An invaluable life lesson for our children.
Read about gross motor activities for kids
How to we set up little challenges to practise perseverance?
- Buy them a drawing book and encourage them to draw a picture everyday as to how they see the night for a month . They need to observe the night sky every night for a month.
- Set small goals like tidying up the bedroom in a day, read 10 books during school holidays, learn to play an instrument in 3 months etc and provide the necessary support and encouragement.
Gratitude
Being thankful for our life, what we have achieved and what we have learnt is a sure way of understanding true meaning of happiness.
How do we teach our kids practise gratitude?
The truth is we really can’t teach that to them if we ourselves don’t practise gratitude.
How do we practise gratitude as adults?
In other words, role modelling is the best way to teach them gratitude.
First be thankful to people in your life who have been there for you.
Thank mother nature for air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat and land we live.
Thank every little help from everyone around you.
Gratitude in everyday life
Say “Thank you” to your kids for helping around, for being good or being good good company.
Say “Thank you” to family, friends and even strangers who shows kindness towards you and let them know what it means to you.
Encourage children to keep a gratitude journal where they note down everything they are thankful for .
Ex: Mommy for reading stories to us.
Daddy for playing games with us
Our neighbour for sharing snacks with us. etc
Go for a nature walk to explore nature and be thankful for everything we enjoy from mother nature.
Respect
Wow, the topic “Respect” has meanings from so many dimensions and all equally important.
Basically, we can teach our kids that Respect does not define that someone is superior or inferior than us. It simply means we all are human beings following a certain code of conduct.
So respecting different opinions, diversity, boundaries, privacy are the pillars that hold a civilized society intact.
How do we teach "Respect" to our kids?
Easy, show them respect. Respect their ideas, respect their feelings, respect their boundary and let them know that even little kids deserve respect just like anyone else.
Help them get more social exposure with people of different cultural backgrounds , different religions and different views.
Ex: Playcentres
Art clubs
Language learning clubs are ideal places to start with.
Share your views on differently abled children, neurodivergent children and stress on the fact that at the end of the day we all are human. Everyone deserves to be respected.
Respect is not just for people.
Yes. We must use public property respectfully.
We need to enjoy natural habitats respectfully.
It truly is a broad area to discuss with kids and must- have life lesson to teach your child.
In Summary
We as parents strive to give the best possible for our kids. Not just in terms of material things, but also the life lessons that are going to last in them and make them total personalities.
Interested in reading about your child’s holistic development ? Check this article about holistic development.
The five life lessons in this article are going to strengthen the core values in our children and make them better human beings.
Trust me, the world needs more and more of them at the moment..
Share your thoughts with us.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks.