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You need to teach your kids to fail:
- to learn how to learn.
- to learn how to find alternative solutions.
- to develop confidence.
- to find success.
- to be good parents and teachers.
Learn by failing.
Every time we try something new and have immediate success, we get more comfortable and less likely to stretch ourselves.
Take lifting weights. I could life 5kg weights for hours without achieving anything other than being able to make the claim that I can lift 5kg. Make it 50kg and I may or may not be able to lift it. Start at 5kg and increase 5kg at a time until I reach the point where it becomes difficult and eventually, I will be able to lift the 50kg with little effort. If I don’t go through that period of “failure”, I will never achieve the greater goal.
Problem Solving
Watch a baby as the grow and see how they figure out how to get what they want. When people constantly anticipate a child’s needs without letting them try to figure it out for themselves, they grow into adults who don’t know how to deal with adversity.
Put something they want just out of reach and they will figure out how to get there. If you let them and you encourage them to try. They just need to know you will catch them if they fall.
Develop Confidence
By making sure you encourage your kids to try something and let them fail, you are teaching them that it’s OK to try regardless of the outcome. Rather than being critical of an error, work with them to solve the problem. Let your kids know they can trust you to support them. Over time, they will become comfortable “failing” and be able to develop critical thinking skills that will help to solve problems.
Find Success
Each time your child fails, they learn something new. Either they learned what won’t work or they learned that they have to develop in some way to achieve their objective. Every “failure” will require them to stretch their limits a little more. Because you have taught them not to be afraid to fail, they will achieve far more than those who won’t try because they are afraid.
Good Parents
Do you consider yourself a good parent? I hope so because you are the model for your kids. Show them that you are willing to try new things and rather than demonstrating anger at failing, show them that you can pick yourself up and start over until you get it right. Not to say you don’t need to modify what you are doing, you need to modify your plan and make corrections. That’s just part of growth.
Lose your temper and give up and that’s what they will model and pass on to their children. Teach them it’s OK to fail and they will find their successes. Which would you rather they model?
Fail – correct – fail – correct – fail – correct = Success!
I’m not sure who said it first, I think it may have been Zig Ziglar, “fail your way to the top”!
Make it a great day!
Barry
What am I thankful for today? I’m thankful for opportunities to fail! I’m thankful my kids don’t seem to be afraid to take risks. I’m thankful for supportive family.
What are you thankful for today?
Please share ...
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