How To Motivate Your Child - By R. N. Whitehead
We cannot motivate children. They are already motivated by their desire to understand their world. They lose motivation when they are expected to do things that do not appear to be important to them. Children motivate themselves when they discover we are offering them something they want. Our job is to lead them to understand why they should motivate themselves.
Children are capable of logical and rational thought but may lack the experience to use this skill. We must learn how to bring our truth to their level of understanding. If we force children to follow our standards, they will only do so grudgingly and will never be motivated.
The real job of a parent is to lead, guide and explain. Children will see the truth of what we say if we say it well.
We must learn to communicate on their level if we expect kids to become motivated. They need a good reason why the activity is important to them and the reason must be in the context of their lives.
Treat children as immature equals. If a child does not want to go to school or learn to read, theyhave a reason. What is it? Their reason may appear strange but your challenge is to discover it. It explains why they act as they do and allows you to bring more understanding into their world.
The secret for us as parents is to make sure that our expectations are properly understood at our child's level, not just at ours. Ask me why you should learn to read and I will tell you that without reading you cannot experience the great literature, graduate from school, or get a great job. Consequentially, you will be doomed to struggle and underachieve throughout your life.
Good answer, eh? But what if you are 10 years old? What does that answer mean? Nothing! It has absolutely no motivating power to the child at all.
By changing the way we talk with our children and by listening to the things that are important tothem right now in their world, we will have the tools necessary to guide them along the path we know is best for them.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “Nothing gives so much direction to a person's life as a sound set of principles.” Helping our kids develop these principles – their principles – can be a joy.
Get motivated this summer for a successful September!
No comments:
Post a Comment