So you've got a new baby. And like many parents, you want everything in their life to be wonderful for them. But did you realize you have the capacity to greatly increase the chances of them having the wonderful life you hope for?
Have you ever wondered how some parents manage to successfully raise kids while others appear to do similar things but the results are much less favourable.
Is it possible child success could be reduced to two foundational decisions made by parents early in a child's life that guide and support all future parenting decisions?
I believe two things make the biggest positive differences to a child's chance of life success:
1. Beginning with the End in Mind:
Now you may be wondering, but what does 'beginning with the end in mind' actually mean in practice? How can I know how my kids are going to turn out, what they're going to want, even what their skill set or interests will be. And I don't control fate...
Simply put, it means the many qualities you ideally want your child to possess as an adult.
For example: Have you ever thought or discussed, the qualities you'd like your adult children to have? Or do you assume it'll all work out okay without planning?
Perhaps something to consider is, you probably know the things you don't want your child to be... For example: You might not want your child to grow up to be obese, drug dependent, or in gaol, so you might look for opposite qualities such as healthy, resilient and honest.
This can be an interesting conversation to have with a partner because you may have differing weightings to the same qualities.
I found the more vivid you can make your goals, the better chances for achievement because all future actions reinforce this decision.
And the Second Major Consideration is:
2. Providing a quality learning environment from birth.
There are many ways of providing quality learning experiences but the most meaningful with the greatest long-lasting effects will be those you provide in your home before your children ever sets foot in any formal learning environment such as a preschool or school.
During my lengthy career in education I've met four year olds who growled to communicate, through to others who were capable of conversing about complex concepts like space, and at four had an extensive vocabulary and general knowledge.
The difference in ability and subsequent trajectory for success between these two examples, is marked and the difference between them usually only increased.
Some ideas you may find worth investigating for your child are:
The value of exposure to early text and the development of listening skills. Try https://www.best-parenting-advice.com/why-introduce-text-early
How to help develop a love of reading. Try https://www.best-parenting-advice.com/loving-reading
Excellent Children's Books. Try https://www.best-parenting-advice.com/my-favourite-children-s-books
How to develop a 'Love of Learning'
I refer you also to https://www.best-parenting-advice.com for additional ideas can greatly increase your child's overall chances of life success.
This website provides practical ideas and best parenting advice to help you raise happy children into successful adults by someone who's done it... It encompasses time saving, money saving and sanity saving ideas that all help to support busy families and children to flourish.
Basically it's what good teachers know to do with their own children.
I hope you find it useful.
regards
Deb