How To Enable Your Child To Cope With Competition?
Children are breaking new barriers every day. With new technologies, contact with changing patterns of learning, virtual classrooms and new learning mechanisms, a child is no longer getting to learn the traditional way. You might sit back as a parent and wonder whether your child is actually overwhelmed with all this exposure or is it a good thing. The first thing that you need to keep in mind is the fact that despite a dog-eat-dog world, children are evolving fast with coping mechanisms that will spell wonders for them in the long run.
As a parent you can aid this process of self-coping with some handy tips. You can be a mute bystander in all this or simply put be a facilitator in aiding your child’s spectacular development.
- Try and understand the personality type of your child: If you are sending your child to school to compete with other kids, you need to know where your kid stands in comparison. Remember your support will matter only when you know how and what your child is like. Understanding how and what makes your child tick is crucial in the ages of 7-15 years. You should make sure that your child competes with himself before he sets goals in beating others.
- The Self comes first: In the competitive spectrum, where your child is with his peers, it makes good sense to understand who your child is. What makes your child successful is not to be confused with what makes him or her comfortable. Help your child find that space and then egg him or her on. Discovering the “self” may be fraught with challenges but that should not be a deterrent.
- Watch out for signs of stress: If there is a niggling discontent that may damage his self confidence in the long run. You should help the child cope rather than criticize him. Children in the age groups of 7- 16 years will not talk about their stress levels openly. Some may even not own up to it. Learn to sit with your kids and discuss their day in particular. Listening to your child is crucial. Understand and steer him, don’t bog him down.
- Understand that losing is not all that bad: Competition is not a rat race that should demoralize your child. It should be about performance and beating personal bests. If that is ingrained in your child he will automatically develop the zeal and vigor to fight out future competitions in academics and sports.
- Never own your child’s challenges: Finally, never ever, take up the challenges of your child and make them your own. The same applies vice versa. Children perform the best when left on their own. Your support should be mental and emotional. Tell them and show them respect. That should be enough. Help your child with the necessary tools to fight their own battles. Never interfere and create a situation where you are mingling with his coach or even shooting off emails to his teacher. If your child picked up a fight in the school bus, do not be tensed just listen and advise, not act on his behalf!