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One of the most frequent comments I get from parents is “I just want my kid to be happy.”
Though an admirable and common objective, happiness is one of the most neglected family values in twenty-first-century America. Few parents grasp the essential meaning of happiness for their children and fewer still understand how they can help their children to find it.
Parents’ efforts at helping their children gain happiness are undermined by the distorted messages that popular culture communicates to parents about happiness; that happiness can be found in wealth, celebrity, power, and physical attractiveness. Yet research and anecdotal accounts of people who have these attributes show that pursuit of these “false idols” can actually cause unhappiness. By understanding how happiness develops, you can help your children find true happiness. The real causes of happiness are all within your children’s control so they can actively do things that foster their own happiness. Self-Esteem Self-esteem is a powerful contributor to happiness. Self-esteem gives children a sense of security from which they can engage the world, which enables them to approach life with confidence. Self-esteem also offers children a strong sense of competence, in which they view themselves as able people who can master important aspects of their lives. This faith in their abilities facilitates success, which can cultivate happiness. It also reduces worry and anxiety, which can cause unhappiness. Positive Attitude We’ve all seen children who just have a great attitude about things. They’re positive, optimistic, and hopeful. They see a world filled with sunlight and warmth rather than clouds and cold. These children tend to be happy because they see the “glass half-full,” meaning they expect good things to happen to them. Children with positive attitudes are also more likely to express gratitude. Children who appreciate the opportunities they’re given and convey genuine gratitude to those who help them have been found to be happy people. Passion Another essential contributor to your children’s happiness is a passion for something in their lives, be it writing, soccer, or another avenue. Passionate children are happy children because there is something in their lives that they absolutely love to do. Children’s passions engage, absorb, and thrill them. For example, the reader who savors every word of the books she reads or the cellist who listens to Yo Yo Ma for hours on end. Just being involved in any way in the activities for which they have a passion makes them happy. Popular culture doesn’t want your children to be passionate about their lives. It wants your children to connect to things that make it more money, for example, a passion for video games and shopping. In a short time, children get bored with their purchases and need to buy more stuff in the misguided belief they will feel passion for them. Parents exacerbate this dependence by choosing the expedient route for entertaining their children—handing them over to popular culture—rather than finding activities that engage their children, from which they might find a passion. Balance The unhappiest children I work with are those who lead unbalanced lives. They spend most of their time in one activity and their self-esteem is based on how they do in that activity.
free toddlers activity & discipline guide HOME PAGE Contact Us || Your own Website || Subscribe Newsletter || Parenting & Childhood Quotes || Link Directory || Parent Child Blog || Privacy Policy || Site Map || Terms of Use ================================================================ The free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site resources contents are solely the opinion of the authors and should not be considered as a form of advice, direction and/or recommendation of any kind. If expert advice or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought. The author and the Publisher assume no responsibility or liability and specifically disclaim any warranty, express or implied for any products or services mentioned, or any techniques or practices described. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Neither the author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. This free toddlers activity and Parent Child Development guide site has articles about What Does It Take To Raise Happy Children for positive parenting skills, social skills training for child, positive parenting tips for Toddler Separation Anxiety and childhood depression, parenting advice about childhood anxiety, Child & Divorce, child self esteem, kids sleep problems, including free child development toddlers activity and Parent Child Development resources, strategies for fussy eaters, including free child development parenting resources for parents who want What Does It Take To Raise Happy Children parent tips. This free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site article links include What Does It Take To Raise Happy Children Parent Magazine, Child Development, toddler discipline, discipline for kids, Child Development, Child & Divorce, Toddler Separation Anxiety, childhood depression, childhood anxiety, child self esteem, social skills training for child, parenting skills, parenting advice, inspiring parenting & childhood famous quotes, What Does It Take To Raise Happy Children, parenting toddler time out techniques, early childhood child behavior problem parenting tips with free behavior chart, toddlers arts & crafts, toddlers songs. This free toddlers activity and Parent Child Development guide site has articles about What Does It Take To Raise Happy Children for positive parenting skills, social skills training for child, positive parenting tips for Toddler Separation Anxiety and childhood depression, parenting advice about childhood anxiety, Child & Divorce, child self esteem, kids sleep problems, including free child development toddlers activity and Parent Child Development resources..
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