Mistakes A Necessary Path For Children

It is common for parents to guide and teach their children everything. This is a good thing, no doubt, but going too far might defeat the whole purpose. Parents need to understand that it is normal for children to make mistakes as they can learn from even these mistakes. After all, they say experience is the best teacher.

Every parent’s role should be that of support and guidance rather than doing for them what they should do for themselves. When children do things by themselves (even though there is a tendency for them to make mistakes), they can develop coping and resilient skills.

Children whose parents allow them to do things themselves and make mistakes where necessary will have certain benefits that children whose parents deny such responsibilities would not have. Some of these benefits are:

• Mistakes would help a child to find new and innovative approaches to problem-solving. When a child keeps making a particular mistake at something, it will get to a point they would not want to repeat the mistakes. Hence, they begin to find new ways of doing that thing such that there would not be a mistake anymore.
• Mistakes create a never give up attitude. A child who keeps making mistakes would get to the point that he decides that he will get it right no matter how long it takes.
• Mistakes are humbling. Children who make mistakes acknowledge that they are not perfect. It makes them know that no one gets to their goals immediately, that there is a need for plenty of practice.

Despite these many benefits a child derives from making mistakes, kids might not be able to embrace mistakes without parents playing particular roles. Below are a few ways you can make your kids embrace mistakes:

• Let them know that mistakes are one’s best teacher. It is not enough for you to tell them this; you also have to show them. Show them all that they can learn and achieve just by making mistakes.
• Let them know it is essential to find the reason behind each of their mistakes. You cannot refer to mistakes as best teachers without bringing out a lesson from each. For example, if your child always forgets to put her book inside her bag, you can encourage her to always write a note to herself in that regard. This way, you have helped her find the reason for the mistake and a solution.
• Watch how you react to your child’s mistakes. No matter how much you want your child to embrace mistakes, it won’t be easy if you do not provide an encouraging environment. So, you have to make sure that your reaction is not contradictory.
• Focus on the positive outcomes of your child’s mistakes. The next time your child makes a mistake, try saying to her, “That’s interesting!” or “That was a great attempt” before pointing out their mistakes.

Parents must begin to create an environment that allows their kids to embrace mistakes without any feeling of intimidation.