Preparing your Child to Thrive as an Adult
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When you reach an age when you have young kids, or you're just thinking about having them, you start to become curious about what's best for them.
If you look back on your childhood, there are probably things you wished you had experienced that might have better prepared you for the world. Perhaps there are passions you wish you'd have followed, if only you'd had a little nudge in the right direction and the opportunity.
Our natural instinct is to want our children to have a better childhood than we had (even if we really didn't have anything to complain about) so that they can go even further in life than we have.
There's been a lot of talk about Dublin’s new Nord Anglia International School, set to open this September. It's part of a global educational network that aims to inspire students to become global citizens and, with links to world-class organisations like UNICEF, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Juilliard School of performing arts in New York, to build up their life skills of creativity, collaboration, and confidence.
So what better opportunity to look at the various ways you can raise your child to be a more
confident person?
Contemplate the future with them
Ask them to think about what they'd like to do when they grow up and help them think through what they might need to accomplish to get there. Of course they may pick an outlandish option, but the important thing is that they're thinking about what they might one day do.
Expose them to other cultures
The wider world can be a scary place for someone who is unprepared for it, so let your child know what to expect from different cultures and people. Perhaps put them in touch with a pen pal or take a trip abroad.
Illustrate how to set realistic goals
Children should be encouraged to set goals early in their lives; it's an essential life skill.
The earlier they come to understand the importance of delayed gratification, the sooner they will find themselves succeeding in social spheres and improving their self-esteem.
Support their pursuit of passions
If you notice they are drawn to a particular area, let them follow it. Don't get in their way, but rather let them see that they can make their own choices.
Introduce them to mindfulness
Adults aren't the only ones who experience anxiety, stress or depression and they can be hugely harmful to confidence.So give your child the tools they need to deal effectively with these symptoms of modern life.
Practice problem solving with them
Can you bring to mind that warm sense of satisfaction that comes with solving a tough problem?
Experiencing that feeling on a regular basis can really help boost a child’s confidence.
Introduce them to volunteering
Encourage your child, letting them know they can make a positive difference in the world and praising them when they've done something good for others, and their hearts will swell with pride.
A five-year-old might help make cup cakes for a charity bake sale while a 17-year-old might organise a table quiz for a large group of people.
Tell them you love them
This is the simplest thing you can do to boost their confidence, but it's absolutely vital to childhood well-being. It will increase their sense of self worth which will become an invaluable foundation for them in life.
Encourage them to participate in activities
Apart from the obvious health benefits of getting your child involved in group activities like sports, it's also good for their personal well-being and for developing their social skills.
Forming friendships, accepting defeat gracefully, performing in front of an audience and seeing their own contribution to a group effort all contribute to the building of an individual's confidence.
It is required when we fail, and we sometimes fail when we take risks.
Risk taking, therefore, must play an integral part of building resilience. Resilience is courage by another name.
Or, as TS Elliot put it, "To find out how far we can go, we must risk going too far!"
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