What's the Best Way to Raise Children? Issue 10 Home Page

Teach Your Children Not to Hesitate to Make Mistakes EunSuk Ji from Korea Photo: S.Peters The question isn't if failure builds character or not. The most important thing is just not to make a big deal of failure. Whenever I think of my childhood, I remember many flowers in the garden, a good smell in the kitchen, and one bad memory of a boy sneering at me. He lived next door to me and went to the same kindergarden with me. We were kind of competitors; whenever he was good at something or I was, we compared ourselves to each other. Fortunately, I was often better than he was, except in rollerblading. He was better at rollerblading than I was, and I couldn't stand it. I couldn't sleep, so I got up early and tried to copy his stunt which I couldn't do. Whenever he saw me, he laughed loudly and proudly showed his great turning and jumping. Finally, after falling down a lot, I could turn and jump like him. I'll never forget the feeling of that moment. However, it was not because I could do it like him, but because I could do something through hard work. That moment gave me great courage and confidence in myself. As I grew up, I came to realize which things I was good at and which ones I wasn't good at. Whenever I wasn't good at something, my mother tried to encourage me. That was very helpful. I tried to do it again and again till I succeeded. No children can be good at everything, but the most important thing is that you never give up if it is a valuable thing in your life. Teach your children not to hesitate to make a mistake. Moments of failure teach them great lessons which make their lives richer. More on raising children: The Key is Common Sense Parents Know the Best Way Both Success and Failure Teach Character> Don't Make a Big Deal Out of Failure Kids Learn More From Their Failures Parents Need to Teach Their Children How to Behave Thoughts on Raising Our Children Well You Remember More When You Cry Than When You Smile Return to: What's the Best Way to Raise Children? | Issue 10 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics mag@gmail.com