Be in your child’s life: TODAY

Jaspreet Kaur, Vice Principal -Bal Bhavan International School, Sector 12,Dwarka

Today the Youngsters need to know and understand themselves first, their potential, their feelings and emotions, their position in life and in society and their strengths and weaknesses. They need to have a clear sense of their own identity.

“Parents are a child’s first teachers and role models” They are responsible for shaping up the child’s behavior and implementing positive values in them. Children listen, observe and imitate their parents. So it is important that they should be good role models the kids would want to follow.

All parents want to raise their children in such a way that they grow up to become happy and functional adults. As a parent we try to provide everything to our children. However, along with facilities and luxuries there are many things in life that are very important. Education is very important in one’s life, but to be self-sufficient adult, our child should learn some life skills, which is need of the hour.

The term life skills describe a set of basic skills acquired through learning and/or direct life experience that enable individuals and groups to effectively handle issues and problems commonly encountered in daily life. They include creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, the ability to communicate and collaborate, along with personal and social responsibility that contribute to good citizenship.

Many of us take life skills for granted. But the fact is life skill helps children become independent and live life smoothly. Here are some life skills,that parents can take up to bring up a positive turnover:

· These days there is cutthroat of competition in outside world and we need to prepare our child face it effectively. For this he or she should be able to think critically so that he or she is capable of observing and analysing any kind of situation to come up with smart solutions.

· Let’s make our child understand the importance of being organized and set some rules for them. We might feel tempted to set up a messed room, but resist; let your child take responsibility and be organized.

· Social skill is the basic life skill that should be taught right from the time child is a toddler. Let your child learn how to play well with others because when he will grow up he will be able to handle teamwork successfully and interact with other more efficiently and impressively.

· Respecting elders is something we would want a kid to build as his etiquette. Help him via setting an example.

· Parents should practise what they preach to their children and avoid hypocrisy at all times when it comes to various situations, dealing with other people in the family or relations.

The parents’ role should be to expose children to various situations and people that build their confidence, self-esteem and boost their power to distinguish between the correct and incorrect to build their integrity.

The formal education system, today has also tended to prioritise knowledge at the expense of other aspects of our personalities, believing that an increase in knowledge will automatically lead to positive changes in attitudes and behaviours.

Parenting is nothing short of a challenging experience and it isn’t a smooth road, lot of turbulence on the way. But we will be able to handle everything wonderfully if we just keep calm and deal with our child in the right way. Always be mindful of the fact that being too strict or too easy isn’t going to help. Finding a balance is the best way to handle any situation. Be Communicative. Remember that your child’s good habits always begin at home. A good habit for children helps your child grow up soon and be a wonderful and successful human being. Be a mentor to your child always.