Power of Words
Have you ever thought about what words you say to your children? I’m not necessarily talking about the four letter words that slip out of our mouths at times. More so it’s what words we say and what action it brings about in our children. When you speak to your child are you concerned with building them up or tearing them down?
Observe the tone of voice you use:
Building children up with our words is not an easy task. We as parents have a huge responsibility bringing up the next generation of adults. It’s important to recognize how your child responds to the words you use and the tone you take with them. I was reminded of this point this morning as my oldest decided to get up at 5 a.m. and not go back to sleep. I wanted to stress to him the importance of getting a good night’s rest and the fact that he needed more sleep. Instead my words dampened his morning spirit as my tone was harsher than it needed to be. Thus I realized my point that I was attempting to make wasn’t made at all. Instead I made a totally separate point of just expressing how frustrated I was.
Praise the kids:
As for the rest of the morning, it went extremely well. My oldest went about his morning and did his morning chores without much prompting, which was great! On my way to work, I made sure to call him and tell him how great of a job he did in his morning chores. I could tell that meant something to him as we finished our conversation. He responded well to the praise that was due him. This conversation reminded me to make sure I praise him when he does things well or does the right thing. When we praise our children, it affects their self esteem and helps their confidence in a positive way.
Remember to correct not to overbear:
The key to remember is that our job as parents are to help guide and correct, we’re not to be overbearing or mean as that will distance parents from children and there’s plenty out there that distances parents from children already. Also remember that we as parents are not perfect. We will make mistake which we can learn from. But the key is to not give up and throw in the towel when we fail, but to try and keep trying to use words positively and with a proper tone that instills confidence and builds their self esteem.
As a parent, we have great power in the words we use and how we use them. We’re to help guide and correct our child as they grow into adults. By not being overbearing and using positive encouragement, we can grow self confident children into self confident adults.
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