Parenting in the best of circumstances is, to say the least, an adventure. Parenting during a pandemic is a full-scale endurance challenge. But with the bitter always comes the sweet, and in these unprecedented times, parents also have an extraordinary opportunity to help prepare their children for a happy and productive life in this wide and wonderful world of ours.
As your children grow into independent little beings, such precious time with the rugrats will become increasingly rare. So there will perhaps never be a better time than now to teach your kids the life skills they need to thrive, life skills they’re likely never to learn in school.
Coping With Challenges Confidently and With Grace
Let’s face it: life is tough. As the COVID-19 outbreak lingers on, our kids are learning that lesson the hard way. Helping your kids learn to manage life’s most challenging moments is perhaps the greatest gift you can give them.
Children right now are experiencing a lot of disruption in their daily lives. They’re contending with disappointments and challenges, from the isolation and stress of remote learning to missed playdates, school activities, and sports.
Now is an ideal time to teach children the importance of resilience. This includes helping them learn to communicate and process their feelings, evaluate their situation, and develop creative solutions to cope with these challenges. For example, if your child is missing spending time with their best friend, you might encourage them to come up with one or two ideas to connect with their friend safely.
Helping your child learn to face challenges, make decisions, and resolve problems independently will teach them self-confidence. They will learn that difficulties and disappointments are a part of life, but they’re not fatal.
Letting your children make mistakes so they can learn how to resolve them on their own is a vital part of this process. It’s imperative to resist the urge to solve problems for them when your child messes up and is hurting. Independence and self-confidence come as children begin to understand that they can overcome life’s difficulties, take responsibility for their own decisions, and then begin again.
Environmental Responsibility
When you’re working on raising happy, healthy, and responsible children, it isn’t just about helping them master academics, manage money, and develop emotional intelligence. Helping your children learn to be good stewards of the environment is also key to raising good adults.
An ideal way to do this, for instance, is to spend lots of time outdoors with your children. Hiking, camping, and fishing aren’t just great for your kids’ physical and mental health, they’re also perfect activities for teaching your kids about the environment.
For example, you can practice the
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