People from every race, religion and culture celebrate the new year, in their own unique way. The new year gives us the opportunity to celebrate making it through the past year and the joy of looking forward to the next 365 days ahead filled with joy,lots of fun, happiness, love and adventure with the children. It is most importantly a time to come together and set some family goals with the children for the new year.
I have written five tips to guide you and your children through 2017.
- Review Year 2016: as the parent, you should take a moment to review what went well in the past year and what you can do differently in 2017.
- Praise your child/ children’s effort: Embrace their failures and teach them how to turn failure into success.
- Help your child/children develop a growth mindset: set high expectations for them and encourage them to take risks in their learning.
- Foster Grit in your child/children: grit is defined as a child’s perseverance and passion for long-term goals. According to Laura Markham, Ph.D., the author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids; encouraging your child/children all the way not only keeps them feeling more positive and motivated, it also gives them that inner voice that will help them continually encourage themselves for the rest of their lives.
- Watch out for depression and other mental illness: always keep a close eye on signs of depression or other mental illnesses such as loss of interest in things they used to enjoy, frequent temper outbursts at school or at home, crying for no reason, always feeling guilty or ashamed, or always feeling tired and exhausted. Try and speak to your child or encourage him/her to speak to you and don’t hesitate to get professional help if necessary.
Hope this guides you in helping your children become the champions they are meant to be in 2007. I wish you a fulfilling and prosperous new year with the children.