How to Help Your Children Lead a Successful Life Without Stress

Every parent wants only what’s best for their children, meaning that we’d all like for our kids to develop into and be successful enough to lead a good life down the road, without having to struggle. However, success is only one part of the equation. So, while we want our children to strive academically, we also want them to be healthy and happy. But how do you find the balance? How do you encourage your child to be successful without putting them under unnecessary stress and preventing them from enjoying their childhood to the fullest? Here are some answers to these and similar questions.

Don’t overburden them

When introduced to them in a smart way, learning can actually be enjoyable. After all, children are curious by nature and they love finding out everything they can about the world around them. This is something they can do at school and through various extracurricular activities, but also through unstructured play and other fun activities you can do with them. 

One thing that can definitely cause children stress is having too many obligations on a regular basis. They may love their football practices, their piano lessons and their French classes, but having all of these a part of their schedule can be overwhelming and leave your kids exhausted and even miserable. So, even if they are the ones suggesting that they take up more than you think they can handle, make sure you be the voice of reason. If this means dropping an activity, so be it, but make sure you and your child choose the activity they’ll give up together, instead of you simply deciding without taking their opinion into consideration.

Provide them with help

When children come across a problem they can’t solve, it can unravel them and lead to a whole range of negative consequences. Other than making them stressed, it can cause them to doubt themselves and lower their self-esteem, which is something you should try to prevent. It’s important for children to know that asking for help when they need it is fine. They should know that there will be situations in life in which they’ll need support, and that’s nothing to shy away from or be afraid of. It’s essential that you show them this from the earliest of age. If they see you asking for help when you need it, they’ll be more likely to reach out for it themselves when the time comes. 

Also, since it’s a good idea to have your child learn foreign languages while they’re still little, which especially refers to English, in case it’s not their mother tongue, it’s crucial that you find the right teachers for them. For instance, you should find them an outstanding course for their Trinity exam, so that their teachers are always there to support your children’s needs, to enhance their confidence and boost their knowledge, providing them with all the help they can need in order to excel and showing them that they can get help outside their home as well.

Their best has to be good enough

Another way to cause stress in children is having unreasonable demands or setting your expectations too high. If this happens, and your child can’t do what you expect or hope for them to, they’ll end up disappointed in themselves and they might even feel like they aren’t good enough for their own parents. Therefore, it’s critical that you always praise them for their efforts as much as you do for their achievements and victories. 

If you see that your child is going out of their way to be good at basketball, or even just to draw something for you, tell them how proud you are of them for trying and that it’s all you can ask of them. It’s OK that you want them to stand out, but you should bear in mind that it’s more important that your kid is the best version of themselves, rather than pushing them towards being better than any of their peers. What you really want are children who are physically and emotionally healthy, and that they are aware how much you love them and appreciate them exactly for what they are.

Keep the stress out of your home

It’s sometimes easy to fool ourselves that our children don’t really understand what goes on around them, and that we can hide our own frustrations, worries and stress from them. However, this is a huge mistake. Children are aware of how you’re feeling, even if they don’t say it to you directly. For this reason, you should find ways to rid yourself of stress as well. You should put your effort into making your life better. Children learn by example, and it’s up to you to set them just the kind of example you think they should have from you. If you lead a fulfilling and successful life, it’s something your children will notice and something which will inspire them to be more like you. 

It’s also vital that you don’t burden them with some of your own problems, meaning that you should keep your children from the adult issues and, to the best of your abilities, allow them to have a carefree and cheerful childhood. When your home is a safe and happy place, your children will feel that way, too.

In most cases, your children’s viewpoints will be defined by your own, whether you like it or not. So, make sure you have a positive outlook on life and that your kids know that you’ll always be there to love and support them, and you’ll be on a good way to raise children who are as happy as they are successful. Here are some great child devekoment toys every parent should look into.