Teaching Children The Value of Perseverance

The instantaneity of the current world, along with the great number of opportunities that we have at our disposal, make constant effort less and less necessary to achieve what we want. However, this isn't a positive message for our children.

Teaching children about the value of perseverance is important because it encourages them to pursue their dreams and overcome adversities. This is such a significant value that keeps becoming more and more important every day.

Persevering means pushing through in the pursuit of what we’ve started, whether it is an attitude or an opinion. We could also define it as doing something permanently or for a long amount of time.

Now, is this a characteristic of the society we currently live in? It’s hard to think so. In fact, today’s world is characterized by constant volatility.

What isn’t useful, we end up replacing. What makes us bored, we exchange for something better. Instantaneity and the wide range of attractions out there have decreased our willingness to make an effort to achieve our long-term goals.

That’s why the value of perseverance has become such an important topic when it comes to our children’s education. It’s an essential quality when it comes to avoiding the frustration that comes with unaccomplished dreams or the uncertainty generated by a constant change of plans or goals.

Up next, we’re going to show you some ways to teach your children about the value of perseverance and why it’s so important.

Benefits of teaching children the value of perseverance

We know perseverance is a very positive thing that can make us feel greatly satisfied. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a value that’s easy to transmit.

How can we explain to others just how great it is to make an effort and work hard instead of taking the easy route to our dreams? 

This teaching requires a very thorough and conscientious exercise in which parents and teachers must work together. These are the advantages that children will draw from this learning:

• Better performance at school and work: To do well in school or at work, it’s essential to put effort into what we do and not give in to the first disappointment.
• Deeper and long-lasting social relationships: Nowadays, friendship and romance are threatened by social media. Most people currently have a bunch of virtual friends who they can’t wait to meet. This is all due to real-life friendships that ended after unresolved conflicts and disputes, which makes “real” relationships difficult to create.
• Emotional fullness and a better self-esteem: Few things generate greater satisfaction than reaching a goal after working so hard for it. This makes individuals recognize their value for having accomplished a dream, which has a positive impact on their self-esteem.
• Achievement of sports, cognitive and life goals: Both in competitions and in life, it’s necessary to work day by day in our personal development and improvement.

Games that promote perseverance in children

Games and activities are vital to transmitting knowledge and values to little ones. Through simple and fun games, you can promote this attitude almost without them perceiving it.

Here are some examples:

Constructing pyramids or castles

Construction games are a clear example of the value of perseverance. Have your child build a pyramid with plastic cups. If he or she is a little older, you can change the cups for cards.

You can make the game competitive by separating children into two teams. The winners will be those who reach a certain model of house, castle or pyramid.

They probably won’t get it right on the first attempt and, for those who aren’t very creative, it’ll probably be a little harder. It’s definitely a great game to teach them not to give up and finish what they’ve started.

Jenga

Jenga is a classic game and it’s an ideal challenge to test children’s perseverance. Learning to remove the pieces without tearing down the whole tower is quite difficult for many people.

It requires a lot of concentration, and the players should be clever enough to think of strategies so the opponent tears the tower down instead of them.

Perseverance on TV or movies

In the world of cartoons, there are many fun fables to encourage children to be perseverant. There is a very well-known fable that you’ve probably never thought of: the squirrel from the Ice Age film.

In every single edition of this film, the squirrel travels the world against all odds to obtain its precious nut. If that’s not perseverance, then I don’t know what is.

On the other hand, you can find animated stories on the internet that are very suitable for children. With the help of certain characters, you can transmit this message to your children in a didactic way.

Lastly, it’s also possible to teach your child other healthy habits that can help them develop perseverance, for example, by setting realistic goals, dividing them into stages and, last but not least, rewarding them for every achievement.

This way you’ll provide your children with tools to help them develop self-control and personal growth. When children learn to be perseverant, they have a continuous desire to improve and don’t let adversities get in the way of their dreams.

Go ahead and teach them this precious value – you’ll notice the impact it will have on them in the long run.