Don't coach your child to win in the playground at any cost. Life is not a playground and children need to learn that when they strive to win at any cost they actually lose. They lose friendship, they lose respect, they lose trust, they lose joy, they lose the ability to learn from failure, they lose a little bit of themselves in the process of being inhumane with the others.
Parents need to understand that when your child interacts with the world out there she is going to struggle and feel pain. The pain of broken friendships, broken trusts, broken promises, broken expectations and broken dreams. It is not our battle to fight. It's not our shame or guilt to feel. It's our chance to coach,mentor, be present but let them feel, let them learn and let them decide.
It's our choice to make, to show them that life doesn't resemble a playground. That people who don't have a common goal or purpose in life don't randomly come together every evening to figure things out and hurt each other in the process. It's just a phase of your life and you have a choice to make on whom to play with and whom to trust. At no cost should we teach them to win at all costs, to return an unkind word with another, to return an abuse or hurt with another. We will not be holding up to the promise we made of making this world a slightly better place than when we came in. We will not be doing our bit.
Then, what do we do? When the child is hurt and sad? Feeling low and out on his own?
Tell him he is being strong for not having hurt back. Teach him what it means to stand up for himself and show his strength through that. Show him how to use empathy to respond with some care and not take s*** from others ever.
But, before you do any of this, look at yourself long and hard into your internal mirror and ask yourself, "If I were in that playground how would I handle the hurt?" If the answer is not what you are teaching the child then learn the kinder, the more empathetic way and THEN practice it together.
Contributed by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Founder of Sparkling Mindz Global School, Preschool, & Afterschool
#everychildcan
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#sparklingmindzglobal
#21stcenturylearning
Parents need to understand that when your child interacts with the world out there she is going to struggle and feel pain. The pain of broken friendships, broken trusts, broken promises, broken expectations and broken dreams. It is not our battle to fight. It's not our shame or guilt to feel. It's our chance to coach,mentor, be present but let them feel, let them learn and let them decide.
It's our choice to make, to show them that life doesn't resemble a playground. That people who don't have a common goal or purpose in life don't randomly come together every evening to figure things out and hurt each other in the process. It's just a phase of your life and you have a choice to make on whom to play with and whom to trust. At no cost should we teach them to win at all costs, to return an unkind word with another, to return an abuse or hurt with another. We will not be holding up to the promise we made of making this world a slightly better place than when we came in. We will not be doing our bit.
Then, what do we do? When the child is hurt and sad? Feeling low and out on his own?
Tell him he is being strong for not having hurt back. Teach him what it means to stand up for himself and show his strength through that. Show him how to use empathy to respond with some care and not take s*** from others ever.
But, before you do any of this, look at yourself long and hard into your internal mirror and ask yourself, "If I were in that playground how would I handle the hurt?" If the answer is not what you are teaching the child then learn the kinder, the more empathetic way and THEN practice it together.
Contributed by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Founder of Sparkling Mindz Global School, Preschool, & Afterschool
#everychildcan
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#sparklingmindzglobal
#21stcenturylearning
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