All children need
encouragement. In middle childhood, kids
are learning many skills and they need to be praised when they try hard to
achieve a task. When they are doing their homework, be intuitive to their frustrations and adjust accordingly. If they vacuum the floor, tell them thanks for helping instead of telling the
child that they missed a spot. If they
are folding towels and they are not exactly the way you fold towels, applaud
their efforts. Children being made aware
of their importance and competency in life and life tasks will likely grow up
to be adults who know they can get a job done and know they are important. Children need to be valued.
Some chores have limited room for error, which would include feeding
and watering pets or livestock, watering the garden and any chore that would cause damage or injury by doing an inadequate job. Be sure the child is ready for the responsibility. There is not a good reason to normally settle for less than their best, but we need to seek out and praise effort and hard work and be creative when addressing the need for improvement. A child who believes he or she is capable will be more motivated to move on to more complex tasks.
Parents and
caregivers have a hard time finding the right balance. Life gets busy and chaotic at times and we
need to be sure that our children are given our full attention in a positive
manner as much as possible. The few
minutes before and after school and work can be great times to give your
children your full attention. You may
feel like you have too much going on, but the best thing a parent or caregiver
can do is give the children all of you, whenever it is possible. If you have a half an hour with your kids in the
morning, do your best to make your time together special and get the day off
to a good start. Caregivers and children
may have limited time together but if you can put away your own “stuff” and
have some special time together every day, the children will be more confident
and secure in their daily living, having been reassured that they are important. Give the time, energy, effort, patience and love it takes for your children to grow up to be considerate, competent, confident and resilient adults. Angela Johnson
Middle age children should be aware of some responsibilities they need to carry out in the home. Cleaning their room, picking up the mess they have made, and such things as proper heigene the need to do. Parents do have to do their part through support and praise.
ReplyDeleteLearning new skills is something we all do everyday. This is so important to small children. Encouragement and praise is definetly needed to help these children grow. Everything they do needs to be praised. Instead of telling the child what they did wrong, we need to tell them what they did right and help them fix the other issues to make them right. My girls and husband niether one fold towels like I do. I do not care. I am just grateful that they help me. A little praise keeps everyone folding.
ReplyDeleteSusan Davis
I absolutely agree with your post. Children need to be praised when they have done a task, it makes them feel appriciated and want to do it again. I feel so grateful that my children help me out around the house when they do, and its a way for them to learn. It doesn't have to be perfect, but praise them for the efforts they have made.
ReplyDelete