Seven Ways to Encourage Your Child Today

Marin Mommies presents a sponsored article from Tom Limbert, Bay Area parenting author, parent educator, and author of Dad's Playbook: Wisdom for Fathers from the Greatest Coaches of All Time. Find out more about Tom at www.parentcoachtom.com.

Children give us countless reasons every day to discourage their behavior. That makes it all the more important to make a conscious effort to encourage whenever we can. You want them to listen to you. Trust me, they’ll be more apt to listen when they know you’re on their side. Wouldn’t you be? Here are seven ways to encourage your child today:

• Believe: It all starts here. You can motivate and energize your child simply by believing in her. It will color all of your interactions and buoy your child’s determination and self-confidence.
• Articulate: Don’t be shy—we’re all family here! You want to encourage your child? Tell him clearly you believe in him and formally acknowledge his efforts. Help him get in touch with his intrinsic pride by asking him how he feels when he achieves.
• Listen: There's no greater gift you can give your child than your undivided attention and admiration. You’ll be bolstering her language development, emotional development and social development all be lending your enthusiastic ears. This age-old practice (listening) works for toddlers as well as teens.
• Model “Can-Do”: Confidence is contagious. Monkey see—monkey do. All that jazz. Stay positive and believe in yourself. Deliver life lessons to your child firmly and directly. Treat your own mistakes as learning opportunities and she will too.
• Break it Down: Your toddler frustrated? Yeah, they do that. Remember it’s their first encounters with these emotions. We take it for granted that we have internalized the process of finding solutions. Help young children by breaking tasks down into smaller, digestible steps. Empathize and then encourage him to seek solutions. Applaud effort along the way.
• Play Socrates: Encourage their independence by refraining from the natural inclination to fix everything. Rather, ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions that scaffold your child to her own discoveries and conclusions.
• Don’t Discourage: It bears mentioning. Really no need for you to constantly be the bad guy. Talk about the natural consequences of his choices and gently help him learn to be accountable. Deliver expectations in an encouraging manner. Eventually he will understand you’re in his corner. In time, he’ll make rational decisions that benefit himself.

It's all mental. Right now make a conscious effort to plant seeds of encouragement today! You and your child will reap immediate and continuous rewards.

Tom Limbert is a published parenting author and parent educator and can be found online at www.parentcoachtom.com. He has been working with young children and their families since 1992, including ten years at Stanford's Bing Nursery School. Tom has a master's degree in education with an emphasis in early childhood development, is the co-creator of Studio Grow, and the director of Woodside Preschool. Tom's book, Dad's Playbook: Wisdom for Fathers from the Greatest Coaches of All Time, has over one hundred inspiring quotes and includes a foreword from Hall of Fame Quarterback Steve Young.