Willpower allows each of us to keep ourselves within the limits of what is permitted and to cut off everything superfluous that impedes the achievement of any goal. People who do not have the willpower are less able to persistently achieve success in certain undertakings, and are more prone to a variety of pernicious addictions.
That is why, every caring parent wants to develop in his child this important quality, which will determine his future life in many ways.
The main thing in this business is to engage in regularly. Of course, failures will happen at first, but with the systematic repetition and training of already learned skills, you can develop the necessary level of willpower in your child.
Presenting the 10 most effective exercises for developing willpower in a child.
10. Introduce the child to the concept of "willpower"
To begin with, determine the goal - offer the child a choice of several options, or ask him what he would like to learn. Set the deadline for achieving this task (this will be the criterion for the effectiveness of the exercises).
Explain to the child that it will sometimes be difficult for him and tell him about several ways to overcome difficulties. And most importantly - believe in it yourself!
Understand that everything you need is already in your child. Your task is to awaken and maximize these natural abilities.
9. Explain the importance of willpower
To do this, tell the child a couple of inspiring stories in which the protagonist was able to achieve incredible success with the effort of will. At the same time, do not forget to tell him about negative examples, thereby showing him what can happen if a person does not have willpower.
8. Teach your child mental exercises
Psychologists have developed several simple exercises to improve the child’s mental abilities. This approach has a complex name - mindfulness. In principle, it is very similar to the technique of oriental meditation, only in this case the exercises are not associated with any philosophical or religious movements.
The main task of the exercises is to start the child to consciously control his attention. This technique will allow you to control your thoughts and emotions, as well as correctly perceive visual, auditory and olfactory signals. But this is a very valuable quality for any student.
You can find many similar exercises on the Internet, but you can start with the easiest - focusing on your breathing. Think of yourself and your baby as a “breathing partner” (it can be a small soft toy). Next, it will need to be put on the baby’s stomach.
After which, tell the baby to take a deep abdominal breath (so that the stomach rises). Inspiration should be followed by a slow, long exhale. At this time, the “respiratory partner” will slowly rise and fall.
It is good if the exhalation is twice as long as the inhalation - this will help the baby feel peace more quickly and focus on its own sensations. With this simple method, you can not only teach your child to disengage from stress, but also improve his IQ level by increasing the cerebral cortex.
7. Explain that errors are normal.
The presence of willpower indicates that a person will overcome various trials that he will have to face in one way or another in this life, without having a momentary positive incentive.
If the child does not doubt that in the end he will get what he wants, then it will be much easier for him to overcome difficulties on the way to his cherished goal.
A child can never be driven into a certain framework: “you can do it, but you certainly can’t”, “you are a mathematician, the humanities are not yours” and so on. With this approach, you will never achieve a positive result.
It is much more effective to constantly give children a focus on growth. If now the child wrote a dictation in the top three, then he has many chances to improve his abilities. Do not be afraid to encourage children to improve their results and set high goals for them.
6. Make a child believe in success and in himself
Failures can be very effective “teachers” if you teach your child how to relate to them. It is impossible to encourage the fact that the child, after each mistake, engages in self-flagellation - such behavior indicates a low self-esteem.
Wise parents will be able to teach their child without fear to accept challenges and overcome self-doubt. The main thing is that the child understands that success is the result of hard work, and not accidental luck. So, with the help of labor, he will be able to overcome everything, the main thing is not to retreat from the intended goal and believe in his own strength!
5. Support the child correctly
On the way to self-improvement, ups and downs occur. And this can not be avoided. But how often do parents react to such imperfections of their offspring?
More recently, it seemed that the son was determined to limit his pastime at the computer, but yesterday he was late at the monitor again.
At this moment, you may want to create a scandal, or at least read a notation, threatening him with the prospect of becoming a bespectacled man to increase the effect. But, this strategy is erroneous in advance.
Remember, for the parent, in the process of training their child's willpower, it is very important to maintain composure. In the end, exercise your willpower!
4. Remind the goal when praising
When you reward your child for the work done, do not forget to remind him of the main goal he is moving towards.
For example, if your son or daughter won the Physics Olympiad, instead of enthusiastically exclaiming: “You are just a young Einstein!”, Tell him: “You worked hard to achieve such a result, now you have become much closer to the cherished goal - admission to the physics department of Moscow State University. "
3. Introduce new habits gradually
We often make the wrong decisions because we give ourselves the word to start a “new life”, relatively speaking, only from Monday, and today we can allow ourselves to relax. This is a very common behavioral tactic, but it is ineffective.
The key to success is good habits that will gradually turn into a lifestyle. After all, as you know: "Sow a habit - reap a character."
From the first steps it is unnecessary to demand too much from the child. In the end, more than one child suffered from Stakhanov’s enthusiasm of parents who decided to try their suddenly awakened pedagogical talent on children.
2. Do not forget to remind about success in the end
Perhaps if a child sweating over formulas every day will present himself as a Nobel Prize laureate, then perhaps he will show more zeal for understanding science.
In general, with a clear designation of the ultimate goal, it will be very useful to explicitly imagine and describe in detail what we will get in the end. The first place on the podium, the ability to easily communicate in a foreign language, study at a prestigious university or the main role in an Oscar-winning film?
The more often we imagine that our goal has already been achieved, the more chances we will have to win.
The same goes for our children. Because of their age, fantasies occupy a significant part of their leisure time, so it would be nice to use this “valuable” resource to effectively motivate a young genius.
1. Set an example and start with yourself
There is such a catchphrase: "You do not need to raise a child, you need to educate yourself."
This is the way a person works - in the first years of his life he imitates his parents, copies their habits, adopts their lifestyle.
Therefore, if in words you will be correct and positive, and your deeds will indicate the presence of negative qualities in your character, then the child will sooner or later lose confidence in your words, and by going through the puberty phase of his development, he will completely lose respect for you, as personality.
Therefore, before directing your child to a certain side, you should already stand on this road and be ahead of it in achievements. Remember, a positive example of your own is the most effective teaching method.