We all face a number of obstacles in our lives that we try to deal with to the best of our ability. As a parent, you of course want to protect your children from all kinds of obstacles in their lives. But of course, they will have to face certain obstacles by themselves. That is why, with the help of a Forest School in Oxfordshire, I’ve put together some points on how you can prepare your children for some of the dilemmas they may face in their lives.
Be A Role Model
Kids are very likely to copy your behaviour, particularly when they’re younger. If you demonstrate a patient and measured approach to dealing with problems that you and your family face, then they will be inspired to have a similar approach when facing a challenge.
Play Games
Playing board games, and even playing video games, can help your child develop a keen sense of problem-solving. The kind of strategy in playing games can help your child practice the kind of critical thinking that is required for helping them face obstacles in real life that requires them to think about how to solve a problem in a number of different ways.
Exercise Their Creativity
Creativity is crucial in developing excellent problem-solving skills. It takes creativity to find a solution to a problem or get out of sticky situations. Moreover, creative activities help relieve stress and negative emotions and organize mental clutter, which is vital to being in the right mindset to overcome obstacles. That said, let your children engage in creative pursuits, whether it’s arts and crafts, building robots and technology, or playing an instrument and making music. When they exercise their creative muscles regularly, they will grow to be more resourceful, innovative, and imaginative.
Practice Makes Perfect
A lot of obstacles that we face in life can be as we begin a journey learning a particular skill. This can particularly be the case with kids, be it that they’re starting to learn a musical instrument, or are stuck on a problem in Maths, or are struggling to read certain words. The main advice here is, of course, practice makes perfect. You should encourage your child to persevere and show some determination, to learn from their failures and build upon what lessons those failures offer to them. Failure in endeavours offers such important lessons, and the sooner your child realises this, the better equipped they will be to manage the challenges they face.
Be There When They Need You
You do want to encourage a certain degree of independence in your child when it comes to the challenges they face. If they can figure something out by themselves, then that is great. But sometimes, a certain problem may prove too much or too overwhelming. Make sure they know you are there to offer advice if it does become too much, and guide them in a way that pushes them in the right direction, rather than giving them the solution straight out; That way, you can demonstrate support, whilst also encouraging your child to use their own sense of reasoning.