Parenting isn’t easy and what’s more challenging is parenting in a way that your child turns out to be happier. So let’s take a look at what makes a child happy.
What makes kids happy?
Though we all have different life experiences, it seems that all parents have one main concern when it comes to their kids – being happy! There are a lot of things that could impact their happiness but what’s more interesting to find out is if we have any control on their happiness or not. If yes, how much?
Is there any effect of the genes in determining the temperament of children? Well, yes and no.
Dr. Bob Murray, Ph.D., who is the author of Raising an Optimistic Child: A Proven Plan for Depression-Proofing Young Children—for Life (McGraw-Hill), says that “There may be a genetic propensity for depression, but our genes are malleable and can be switched on or off depending on the environment”. “The research clearly shows that happy, optimistic children are the product of happy, optimistic homes, regardless of genetic makeup.”
So what can be done by you to create a home environment where your child’s happiness will flourish? The following are some strategies that will reinforce your child’s ability to experience joy:
Foster connections
The best way to secure your children’s emotional well being is by building a strong connection with them. Doing so could make all the difference in their future happiness as it has been proven that children who feel accepted and appreciated will grow up to be emotionally secure and confident.
Focus on showing that you love your kids and enjoy spending time with them and learning about new things together or even just quietly doing an activity like playing games. Showing affection may seem second nature, but in today’s culture it can ultimately mean their future happiness.
Feeling connected has been scientifically proven to protect against addiction, depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. It also works wonders for relationships with parents! If you are worried about how to do this or know someone who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with their children, Global ADHD specialists may be able to help if they feel further treatment is necessary.
Do not forget your happiness
While it isn’t practically possible to control our children’s happiness at all times, there are many things that can be done to have that effect overall. One of the most important of these things is to make sure you’re in a good mood yourself. Think about it: children may be sensitive but they are able to pick up on tones and even body language.
That being said, happy parents tend to have happy children who grow into happy adults. And vice versa… Depressed parents happen to have very unhappy kids who grow into depressed adults an alarming rate of the time according to studies. We want you to take care of yourself just as much as you care for your children. To do that, carve out some time for rest, relaxation and quality time with your spouse. You will find TONS of other positive effects that come with having a healthy relationship – not only for you and your partner but for YOUR CHILDREN as well!
Make room for both success and failure
Life is a cyclic process of trial and error and lessons to try and fail on something else again. If your child grows up with a mindset to only succeed and never fail, which is practically impossible, chances are, he/she will never find happiness in anything.
For the mindset to be different, you need to encourage and nourish in your child the ability to appreciate and treat both success and failure with equal emotional capacities.
Give them responsibilities
Obviously, if you’re working on your child’s ability to grow in areas related to their self-esteem and self-worth, you’ll want to avoid focusing (too much) on compliments from now on. Instead, we highly recommend that you step back and give them lots of chances for new challenges that they can succeed at every time!
After all, mastery is the real self-esteem builder, not praise! Kids under the age of 4 are constantly mastering skills like walking and talking, tying their shoes and learning new words. It’s our role as parents and older siblings to give them challenges that they can handle—even if it means doing less for them so they learn how strong they truly are.
As one of the top 10 schools in Bengaluru, MS Dhoni Global School turns to innovative teaching techniques and activity sessions that help children find happiness in learning. Besides academia, friendships developed at school too are a major source of joy for them.
