“What is the most important thing a parent need to teach his child so he/she will live a happy life” - ecoTrain Question Of The Week
Hello you, welcome.
Well that would be: self acceptance.
I believe that when a person can accept him/herself, the best he/she has to give will come out.
Yep. 😊
It means giving a child the general feeling that he/she is ok the way he/she is. That what they feel they need (desires) and what they feel is bad for them (boundaries) is generally ok and alright to be expressed. It doesn't mean that what is desired can always be given, or what is wanted to be avoided can always be avoided, because life isn't perfect. But... in general the child should be made to feel that the world around it (consisting mostly of the parents for the first few years) is most of the time accepting him/her and willing to cooperate with what the child wants to achieve/avoid.
Meaning the balance should always be tipping over on the accepting side of things.
The other side of that balance would be adaptation, which is also a necessary trait to learn, be it mostly out of love. If we teach our children adaptation out of fear we create dangerous citizens. Citizens that can not get in touch with their inner being anymore as they have learned to ignore it by adapting out of fear. They can not think properly for themselves anymore and are mostly fear driven. These kinds of people are an easy prey for leaders with bad intentions.
Adaptation out of love on the other hand would be something that we could teach our children by showing them that adjusting for the comfort of others is sometimes in our best interest as it gives us joy to see them comfortable. In this way the child can learn to stay in touch with its own desires and boundaries while opening up to serving others from the heart.
This can only be done on a solid base of self acceptance. So this is for me the most important thing to teach them.
Do you have any questions about this? I have studied child development, feel free to ask.
For more inspiring thoughts check out: @ecotrain
Lots of Love Clara
I agree with you, @clara-andriessen. Self-acceptance is one of the most important things you can teach your child. I guess it all boils around that it will give a child a base be his own in any situation he/she faces and do not mind anyones's opinion.
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I agree
Exactly!
In watching my grandchildren I try to keep these things in mind. Great post! I am resteeming.
Yay! Thank you!
Self-acceptance is definitely one lesson many parents don't teach their kids but need to. This is one thing I'm trying to teach my son from this young age. Hope he grows to be a very accepting child- one who accepts himself and others openly too.
Wonderful Sharoon, we can only try.
Definitely self-acceptance - my elder daughter struggles a little with this because she is a tom boy and likes 'boy' things and I have to constantly remind her that this is completely fine and that everyone has unique combination of things they like and dislike. I hate the gender divide placed on activities and toys with a vengance.
Yeah, why should boy things be off limit huh?