5 ways to raise a happy child

 

What do most parents want for their kids?

They want them to be happy of course!

Cultivating a happy mindset is crucial in increasing a child’s happiness. Where we focus our attention on has been shown to have a direct impact on our happiness, as it determines how we interpret and recall information later.

Here are 5 tips backed by science to help you bring out the joy in your child.

Don’t sweat a little stumble

Most parents find it tough to allow their child to make mistakes. However, mistakes are part and parcel of growing up. Pay less attention to the negative outcomes and your child will be encouraged to get back up and try again.

The glass is half full!

Constantly interpreting life events in a negative manner may cause your child to view the world as an unfriendly place. Teach your child how to see the positive instead of the negative in her daily activities.

Children are resilient

Do not ‘awfulise’ or exaggerate how negative an event is. Children have the uncanny ability to recover from stressful events and bringing more focus to the negative is not helpful in any way.

Encourage effort, not perfection

Encouraging perfection in your child may cause him to pay attention to the small details that went wrong, instead of focusing on the big picture of everything that went right. Reward effort and not perfection.

Savour happy moments

Teach your child to concentrate on recognising happy moments, and basking in them. By taking time and effort to appreciate positive life events, they will have more memories to recall and enjoy later on.