Sunday, March 13, 2022

Nurturing Grit and courage in our children towards challenging tasks



Scary scene? 🙈

In our beach visit yesterday, our 4-yr Muawiyah developed confidence to climb the rocks with minimal supervision. Here's what I've learnt on nurturing Grit and courage:


1. Presence - Show them support without being overbearing and supervising every move. Be there just enough to Let them feel our presence, that provides assurance they are supported and we are there for them. 


2. Guidance - what I've learnt is, best to lead with actions, less with words. In this case, it's for me to first show Muawiyah what "safe climbing" looks like. Since boys like to compete, it's important that we express the virtue of care / safety, not speed. You dont have to give instructions for the whole task, just enough for them to take the next step. Then, let them figure it out. Provide the broad strokes, let them fill in the blanks.  


3. From start to finish, make it fun. The best way to cement any learning process - from reading, speech,  Qur'an, house chores, to prayers - is by affirming it with positive emotions. Celebrate their little wins: High fives, expressions of excitement such as "Awesome, little man!", "good try!" or "I knew you could do it!" are little positive habits that can help form an encouraging and enjoyable learning environment. 


4. Give them room to make mistakes - and don't nag if they do. Nagging only causes distress, and suppresses their desire for further attempts or to challenge their limits. Instead, debrief them respectfully about why this action causes that consequence, let them learn. 


5. Beware of distractions - At one point, the sight of some nearby teenagers made him nervous & rushed, almost falling as a result. Kids get distracted easily, and can cause them to lose focus and potentially getting hurt. 


6. Trust, respect and show confidence in their learning ability. Refrain from mocking, making fun , or laughing at his attempts, (no matter how irresistibly adorable it can be😅) 


After a few successful attempts, when I saw he had the confidence to do it by himself, then I allow him to go in front to take the lead, while I secretly took his video 🤓


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