How to Raise an Optimistic Child

7th October 2020

Optimism is crucial for leading a fulfilled and joyful life. If you see everything in a negative light, it is unlikely that you will be truly happy. With that said, parents should help their children to have an optimistic outlook on life by acting as an excellent role modelling and following the advice provided below by a private girls’ school in Leatherhead.

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In order to raise an optimistic child, you will need to help them navigate through the challenging aspects of life. If your child faces a setback, like a failed exam, remind them that life is full of ups and downs and that we learn from our mistakes. If you are hard on them when things like this happen, they will only worry about failing their future exams and put too much pressure on themselves to succeed. With this in mind, remind them regularly that you are proud of them no matter what.

Try and help them to experience lots of new and wonderful things on a regular basis so that they learn to look at life with a positive perspective. This could be something as simple as cooking a new tasty recipe that they haven’t tried before or watching a great movie that they haven’t seen. Essentially, the trick is to find ways to make your child happy, both big and small, so that they look forward to new experiences rather than fear them. The chances are, you probably do this naturally, without even realising.

Let your child have some independence to do things on their own so that they can learn from their own mistakes and grow in confidence. Perhaps set them some minor responsibilities about the house, like setting the table, and praise them when they complete the tasks successfully so that they start to believe that they can do anything they set their mind to.

Generally, aim to set a good example for your child so that they can learn from the best. Avoid complaining about work or household chores and, instead, look for the positives in things. Encourage your child to recognise the things they are grateful for, like a delicious meal or a comfortable bed to sleep in, so that they appreciate what they have and recognise the good in life.

This is a collaborative post.