7 Ways to Help Your Children Develop Their Abilities

7 ways to help children develop their abilities

1. Encourage a positive attitude

Parents can pass on values like hard work, consistency and resilience. We must do so by example – the greatest educational tool we have. Of course, the knowledge we’ve acquired throughout our life is always useful. But what really makes the difference is our attitude.

2. Boost self-confidence

Self-confidence greatly affects everything we do. It’s true that, if you can believe you can do something, then you can do it. However, we often get stuck and limit our own abilities by not trusting that we can reach our goals.

When it comes to our children, we need to do our best to avoid this attitude. How? Through realistic goals, both short and long term. As your children reach each objective and progress, they’ll realize what they’re capable of. This will boost their enthusiasm and self-confidence.

3. Allow for mistakes

Some parents think they must do everything for their children just to keep them from failing. However, this only diminishes children’s self-confidence because they come to see themselves as incapable. To help our children develop their abilities, we need to give them the opportunity to make mistakes.

It’s in those moments when children really learn – you never forget when you make a mistake. Let your kids do things for themselves, as this will boost their autonomy. The effects of overprotecting children are in no way positive.

4. Discover their talents

Everybody’s good at something, we just need to figure out what it is. Unfortunately, many parents take their children from one activity to the next. Their time is divided among basketball, piano, art, gymnastics, etc, but they never have time to discover and invest in what they really enjoy.

This makes self-knowledge impossible. Knowing oneself is a fundamental part of evaluating our abilities and improving those that motivate us. To do this, we need to understand that free time isn’t a waste of time. Let your children have fun and discover what they’re really good at.

5. Develop their empathy and social abilities

Helping children develop their abilities isn’t just about what they can do for themselves. It’s important that we show them how to work in a team and how to help others reach their goals as well.

Empathy is an essential value in this sense. Children need to understand how their actions affect others. Therefore, avoid negative comments. As often as possible, show the importance of respecting the rights and opinions of others.

6. Don’t compare or criticize your children, but rather value their efforts

The worst thing you can do to help your children develop their abilities is to put them down. Comments like “you’re not good at this” or “why can’t you be more like so and so” are incredibly harmful.

Comments like these are destructive to children’s self-esteem. Rather than motivate children to improve, they destroy any motivation they may have and increase their level of frustration.

You should do just the opposite. Point out their mistakes, but always help your children find a better way to do things. At the same time, don’t forget to value the fact that they’ve tried and given their best.

7. Help your children when needed

In the long and hard path of learning, there will undoubtedly be times when your children will need your help. Even if there’s not much you can do, at least give your children your company and support, offer suggestions, etc. If your children need a tutor or a private teacher, you can also work to make that happen.

It’s important that your children not feel alone. Children who grow up with the presence and support of their parents suffer less mental stress. In the long run, this affects their ability to learn.

The truth is that there’s no big secret to helping children develop their abilities. It’s all about taking small actions. They may seem minimal to us, but they make all the difference in the lives of our  children.