Unfortunately, the world is not always roses and sunshine. It's filled with ups, downs, struggles, and triumphs that we must prepare for if we are to live a happy and fulfilled life.
Mental strength is the ability of a person to deal with these struggles and tough challenges and make the best out of life with the circumstances that they find themselves in.
It's no secret that making kids mentally healthy is every parent's priority. Mentally strong kids can productively approach problems and failures and face difficulties with confidence.
Challenges, struggles, personal failures, setbacks, and disappointments are inevitable, and parents must teach their child to combat these situations correctly by arming them with the skills and traits they need to navigate this harsh harsh world that we live in today.
However, raising a mentally strong child is a delicate balancing act - there are many things you need to consider if you are to pull it off successfully. But don't worry, in this article we have listed some golden rules to give you the best chance of raising a mentally strong child
Make it a family priority to take care of your mind
Commonly, parents ask their kids to take care of their bodies by not overeating junk food and to take care when they are out playing. They teach them to brush their teeth regularly, eat a balanced diet, and do exercise.
However, very few parents teach their kids to take care of their mind and mental health. Make it a family priority to build mental strength too. If your kids need a therapist to take care of their mind, then you should make it happen.
Teach your child how to think realistically
We often think that children don't need to tackle struggles, hardships, and disappointments, but that's not right. Just like adults, children also have to deal with negative thoughts and criticism.
As parents, you should teach your children to think realistically and objectively. Try to make them confident but not overconfident otherwise, they will get very hurt while facing challenges, failures, and struggles in life - especially when they do eventually get their overconfident bubble burst.
Make them watch good videos
Kids do what they see, that's no secret. That's exactly why videos can be a great way to teach your kids how to be mentally strong. It doesn't;t need to be some crazy motivational video that your child will most likely lose interest in. Keep it light, entertaining, and child-friendly. There are plenty of valuable lessons to be learned indirectly via entertaining mediums.
By doing so, they will start developing their self-esteem and self-confidence, helping them to face negativity, criticism, and failures. From experience, it's better to find a short video for kids as the longer videos will more than likely lose their attention.
Listen to your kids
Listen! One of the most underused parenting skills is the ability to be quiet and listen to what your child is saying. Some parents usually ignore the child when their kids speak. As a parent, you should take out time to listen to your kids and make their opinion feel valued. This will boost their confidence and eventually improve their overall mental strength.
Teach your kids to get enough sleep
Adequate sleep is required for a kid to be mentally strong; in fact, it's vital for all of us! As a parent, you should teach your kids to get a sufficient amount of sleep. Educate them and explain the benefits of sleep and how having too little of it can really affect us negatively throughout the day.
Get them to drink green tea to boost brain functioning
Good nourishment is not only important for becoming physically strong, but it also goes a long way towards boosting our mental state.
One great beverage to introduce to your children that is filled with nourishing components is green tea. Green tea will help in improving the brain function of your children in addition to helping with memory and focus. It also has calming effects on the brain, which could be a great help when your child is having a tantrum.
Build Mental Strength as a Family
As always, it is better to remain as a unit when you are a family, and this is doubly important when it comes to mental health. Family members (particularly parents) should act as role models for their children and lead by example.
Showing your kid how to be mentally strong is one of the best ways to encourage them to build mental strength. Demonstrating that mental strength and self-development is a priority in your life will almost certainly rub off on your children as they try to emulate your lifestyle and traits.
Educate them - tell them that mental strength doesn't mean that they must be "tough." It involves becoming self-confident in life and being able to divulge and explain our emotions in the correct manner no matter what the circumstance.
It's clear that children don't learn to be mentally strong from reading about it in books. It's their day-to-day living, which helps them to be moral.
Bottom Line
Raising mentally strong children requires mentally strong parents, that's a fact. It's a challenging task, but consistent efforts and clear communication will go a long way. Prepare your children to face the challenges and struggles of the real-word and lead by example each and every day.
Become a real role model and set mental tenacity and robustness as a priority for yourself, and the rest will inevitably fall into place. Stick to the golden rules that we have laid out in this article, and you will have yourself a true little mental warrior ready to take on whatever gets thrown their way.