Do you want to raise confident, happy and whole children?
Of course you do.
What parents tell their children lays the foundation for confident tweens, teenagers and adults.
As teachers, parents and guardians of children, its important to be mindful of the words we speak, the example we lead and how we conduct ourselves around children.
What we say becomes a child’s inner voice, their first experience of the world and formation of limiting beliefs.
Practicing mindfulness phrases is the start of creating new patterns, uplifting children and teaching parents a new way to converse with their children.
Here are 3 phrases we can make a part of our conversations to raise confident, mindful and whole children.
BE MINDFUL
How many times do you tell your kids, ““Stop! Be careful”. The reality is we want children to explore and wander the world, ask questions, understand the limits of their body (with healthy and safe boundaries).
But protecting against each oppsy and ouchie makes them fearful to make mistakes. Mistakes are POWERFUL learning opportunities. Rather than instilling fear we have to instill awareness. If a child is being mindful, they’ll usually be able to learn from what went wrong.
Instead of reacting and projecting our fears, calmly tell them to “Be Mindful”. This encourages children to be calm when mistakes occur, be aware when exploring and learn the lesson from each oopsy and ouchie, so they don’t continue to repeat them again.
Of course have boundaries and intervene when there is a health or safety danger, but give freedom for children to be carefree and curious otherwise.
BELIEVE IN YOUR INNER POWER
Whenever a child is having a challenging time with something do this – give them a big smile and tell them “Believe in your unlimited inner power and anything is possible.”
Over praising when not deserved and under praising only when kids meet your expectation only raises indecisive, approval seekers.
Let children know that they have all the answers within them and they can call on their inner voice to help them.
It is our duty through what we say and how we say it to help children learn to stay connected to their inner power. That’s how they begin to trust themselves.
Teaching children THEY are the only standard they need to meet takes off so much pressure and weight off their shoulders.
IT’S OKAY TO MAKE MISTAKES
How often do we hold ourselves back because we fear we’ll do it wrong or make a mistake?
In my kids yoga class, I see the fear of “I can’t do it” planted in kids as young as 3.
Some kids don’t try new poses because the embarrassment of being made fun of or feeling inferior is so prevalent. So how do we break that?
It’s important to reassure kids that people who are awesome at something didn’t start off awesome. In yoga, we say “This is a yoga practice not a yoga perfect.”
The same rational of never giving up and always trying again, can be applied to all areas of life.
Teaching our kids that we all make mistakes (even you). The purpose of mistakes is so learn from them and try again.
Show your kids by your example that you aren’t perfect. Let them see you try things out of your comfort zone, putting effort to follow your dreams. They will then have the confidence to follow their own dreams.
Now I want to hear from you.
What are some important phrases you use with your children to build their confidence?
Remember the best way to teach confidence is when we embody it ourselves. Start building your own self-love relationship and imparting confidence to our children becomes natural.
Stay bold and confident,
