Quora great question of the week

How do you raise a child to become confident? Answered by Anna Farmer

1. Spoil them rotten when they are babies. Babies are tiny mammals, unfit to survive on their own and completely dependent from you. To feel safe they need you, they need to feel your proximity and to hear your heartbeat. 2. When they start to understand you, introduce rules. Only introduce rules you know they can follow (mind that toddlers won’t be able to sit still very long, remember that kids need space to move and be noisy sometimes). Never give in to tantrums and blackmailing. Smaller kids don’t need long explanations why they can’t do something, rules for older kids need to make sense. 3. Praise honest efforts/achievements and provide helpful criticism. Say what you like, explain how it can be improved. If things didn’t go well, help your kid to do it better next time. 4. Never, never, never get angry or punish your children when they bring home bad marks — unless you want to raise a kid who associates learning with frustration. No kid wants to fail in school. Help them with their study techniques — most schools never teach kids how to learn efficiently. Check Barbara Oakleys ‘Learning How To Learn’ to find out how to help your kid learn. You should teach your children that they can improve their situation when they put in time and effort, and there is no lesson more valuable than this. Views: 29.6K, ,Upvotes: 1.1K