raising extraordinary humans

Raising Extraordinary Humans

DenaFebruary 4, 2020

raising extraordinary humans

raising extraordinary humans

With Roman in first grade this year, we’re coming across more and more important “real-life” issues. Topics like bullying, differences, friendship, and fear come up on a regular basis. Last year, when he was in kindergarten, we came across some of these things, but this year it seems that he and his classmates are going through an explosion of awareness. With that awareness comes lots of new, and sometimes overwhelming, challenges and opportunities.

Since the day that Roman was born, motherhood has become the most important role of my life, but we all know that kids don’t come with a manual. So how do we raise our children to become kind, respectful, responsible, happy and healthy? I believe that raising extraordinary humans doesn’t require extraordinary circumstances, like expensive private schools. With commitment and, most importantly time, we can raise little ones to become caring, kind people who are dedicated to making the world a better place.

I definitely don’t have all of the answers and every day is an adventure, some better some worse, but I’m so proud of the amazing people that my children are becoming. I am happy to share just a few of the things that I try to incorporate in our day-to-day lives.

Focus on play
I am a huge believer that children’s lives should not be over-scheduled. Those places in the world where children have the most freedom to play, are the places where which have the best education systems in the world. In countries where the education system is play-based, children go on to routinely perform the highest in reading, science, and mathematics. Making play a priority is critical and a beautiful way to teach children about the roles and rules of society. You can find great educational toys at Born Cute that you can use to teach your little one about building a strong character.

raising extraordinary humans

Lead by example
If we want our children to become fair, caring and honest adults, we need to be model this behavior ourselves. The only way to effectively lead is by example. Our little ones learn their ethical values by watching us, so what we do is so much more important than what we say to them. Of course, we all make mistakes, acknowledging these mistakes and talking about them, rather than denying or ignoring them, are some of the most important conversations that we will ever have with our children. Your child knows that you are not perfect, and allowing them to understand that that’s okay is so important. When slip-ups happen, sit down with them, talk through mistakes and together find a way to move forward with more grace than ever.

raising extraordinary humans

Talk about right and wrong
Kindness, compassion, and love can all be taught through observation. Choose which values are most important to your family and then commit to living and honoring those values. Make sure to honor commitments, do the right thing even when it’s hard, and stand up for justice. These actions breed kindness and caring, teaching children to be concerned with the world around them.

raising extraordinary humans

Actively practice gratitude
Practicing gratitude is key to maintaining a healthy, happy heart. Gratitude allows us to be generous, compassionate, and forgiving humans. One of my favorite ways to practice gratitude with my children is during our prayers each night before I tuck them in. After they say their prayers I ask them each to share their favorite part of the day. That little act of looking back over the day and picking out what they were most thankful for is an easy exercise to strengthen their gratitude muscles.

raising extraordinary humans

Discuss world problems
Helping children to see the big picture by teaching them about global issues, other cultures, and differences is so important. I do believe that there is a fair amount of sheltering that should be done, it is unfair to overwhelm their little hearts with too much. But it is also important to be honest with them on a healthy scale. They will eventually learn about these topics, like it or not, so choosing when and how they are exposed to them is important. By learning about the world far outside of their lives, children can become more empathetic, caring and informed.

raising extraordinary humans

Being a parent is about so much more than making sure our little ones have clothes on their back and food in their bellies. It is also about doing our best to raise people who will grow into kind, grateful, tolerant and respectful humans. It is the greatest honor and responsibility that we are given as parents.

Comments (1)

  • KC

    February 4, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    Excellent

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