Below are are 3 practical tips to help you raise happy kids – and boost your children’s happiness – in the form of 3 powerful phrases.
If you’re a parent reading this, then you (just like me!) are concerned about raising your kids to be happy – no matter the challenges your children might face.
I recommend saying these 3 phrases below – regularly – to your kids!
Each of these phrases represent yet another way to say “I love you” to your child – without actually uttering those 3 words.
Sprinkle these phrases (below) into your child’s life and you will help your kid to feel confident, supported and loved.
Your mission:
Allow your child to fully absorb these loving, happy words – so they become part of their daily inner voice.
Actually, when I say these words to my son, I say them three times in a row, in a silly, exaggerated, Winston-Churchill-type voice: “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!”
This makes Ari giggle. And laugher is a great stress reliever – further helping him to keep moving forward.
Recently, however, I realized these words need an important addendum.
My son and I were putting together a Spiderman puzzle. Ari kept trying to squeeze the wrong puzzle piece into an empty puzzle space – while repeating: “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!”
I corrected him by saying: “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up! Unless of course you’re doing something which might be wrong – then you need to stop, think and come up with a new strategy!”
“A new strategy?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, “If you keep doing what you’re doing – you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. If nothing changes, nothing changes. So… you need to look for a new way of doing it – a new strategy – to get new results.”
Ari now recognizes the importance of never giving up – while also being open to seeking new strategies.
The other day my son was trying to use chopsticks and struggling.
“I guess I need a new strategy – huh, mom?” Ari asked with a smile.
“Yep!” I said.
Ari re-jiggled the chopsticks in his hand – and tried again! He was immediately rewarded with a mouthful of steamed chicken dumpling – followed by a huge proud smile from me!
“Good for you – for trying a new strategy!” I told him – reinforcing his efforts.
I say this phrase to Ari particularly when he is attempting to master something new. It reminds Ari to stop being upset at himself for slip ups and downfalls.
I like to say this phrase not only during a challenging activity – but also before – as a warmly worded warm up.
Our family has started dancing to WII U’s “Just Dance” game! Some dance steps are super tough. Every time we find it tough to keep up – and are tempted to give up – I yell out: “Yo! Practice is how we learn!”
Now when I pull out the Wii U disc to dance, my son yells out “Practice is how we learn!” even before we start boogie-ing down!
I feel it’s essential to remind Ari that people who are highly awesome at something didn’t originally start off highly awesome.
I want my son to grow up knowing that it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to fail. And it’s okay to struggle.
What’s not okay is for my son to think that mistakes, failure and struggle are permanent states of being!
I want my son to view mistakes simply as a bridge you need to keep traveling across to get yourself to “The Land of Highly Awesome.”
I want my son to grow up knowing that persistence, and patience and effort are each far more important than perfection.
Whether you’re feeling stressed, need motivation, dealing with haters, or struggling with a challenge or crisis, THINK HAPPY will help you to move forward with optimism and resilience.
It’s the perfect gift for someone you want to cheer on or cheer up – including yourself!
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