We are pretty sure that you do not want to damage the self-esteem of your child and kill the spirit of enthusiasm in her. Motivating the child instead of nagging her will help. This article is divided into two section. The first talks about motivation; while the second helps you with some useful tips to unlock your child’s true potential.
The significance of motivation
Motivation is essential for almost everything in life. We fail majorly because of lack of motivation. The lack of motivation can be because of several factors, there is this unwillingness to do anything andthings don’t seem to be alright. If there is lack of interest, the student will not want to study, finish her homeworkand will have poor grades. When a child is not motivated for a task, anxiety and fear of failure develops which leads to procrastination. Understanding the root cause of lack of motivation is the first step to progress. There is no ham in taking professional help if you are unable determine it for your child.
Praise and motivate your child instead of criticizing
The trick can work wonders, you will have to be patient in its application. Nagging the child can hamper the interest of the child and make her spirit lifeless. Praising the child can help in boosting confidence and raise the self-esteem of the child. Basically,all children want to please their parents and when they are motivated enough they will have a good self conduct. For example if your child makes a mess while coloring a color book, all the color goes outside the figures on the page. Instead of shouting at her, explain to her that the color should be inside the figures and it is incorrect to spread color everywhere. Now notice when she starts followingthe correct procedure, appreciate her.
Effective Praising
The entire idea behind praising is to make the child understand that what she did was good and should be repeated. In order to be more effective while praisingthe child be descriptive in your praise. Usually we just say, ‘nice work’, ‘keep it up’, try narrating the whole event that happened and what she did was commendable. For example, “I love the way you colored in the color book today, keep it up”. The child now will understand in a better way thatif she repeats it, she will be praised. May be you can even gift a toy or a favorite food item once in a while to keep up the spirits.
The best way to motivate your children for a long term is in a positive manner, negation will create mental blocks and de-motivate the child rather.
Tips to help you motivate and unlock your child’s true potential
Many a time, we find ourselves scolding our children for not performing well in school, comparing them to the kid next door who has got better scores than them and are smarter than them, physically more active than them or more well-mannered than them. While we consider this to be a way to discipline our kids, the truth of the matter is that these measures will only lead to kids developing a low self-esteem as they grow up.
This low self-esteem, in turn, will turn into other problems like anxiety, depression and even antisocial behavior as the kids grow up. So how do we go about unlocking our kids’ true potentials without yelling at them all day long? Here are some effective tips that may be of some help in the matter.
Understand their Learning Styles
Every kid is unique in his/her own way. Kids also differ in their learning styles wherein one kid prefers to study in a quiet room while another prefers to have some music playing in the background or play around while studying. Understand the learning style of your kids and find out the situations in which they seem to learn the best. This allows you to create a learning approach based on their unique style which will help them learn better without feeling the pressure related to the same.
Encourage and motivate Special Skills through
Unstructured play can sometimes throw light on special skills your kids may have. Do not be overly possessive about their grades. Instead, focus on their interests and encourage their skills, nurturing them to do better in other fields eventually. These skills may be as simple as dancing, playing catch or playing leapfrog, etc. Let them try something new and take it as an opportunity to develop their physical, personal and intellectual abilities rather than stopping them midway.
Identify Needs behind Behaviors
Kids behave in certain ways owing to their needs. So instead of reprimanding them for their behaviors, find out the reasons motivating the same. You can attempt to abolish these behaviors only by understanding the underlying needs and finding out ways to handle these problem areas. Doing so will help your kids become more cooperative in the long run.
Don’t punish, rather guide
Many a parent feels that the occasional spank does wonders in disciplining kids. The truth is that your kids will become used to these spanks eventually and stop responding to them altogether. Worse, they will try to emulate the same behavior with their friends as means to get what they want. The same goes for punishments as well. Substitute punishments with guidance instead and you will be amazed with the results. For instance, instead of punishing your kids for playing with a ball indoors, you can emphatically suggest that they play outdoors where there is more space and fewer chances for any damage.
Summery on why you should motivate you kid
Parents should understand the needs of their kids and take appropriate measures to raise them up in a positive environment. Using simple strategies, they can help unlock their kids’ true potential and help them become better human beings as they grow up.