As parents, we all want the best for our children. We would give them the world if we could, but many of us are so taxed and tired at the end of the day that we struggle to even read them a chapter of a book or play a game of catch.
We are all trying the best we can, especially as we learn how to be successful ourselves. Even so, there are some things you can do to set your children up for future success – things that won’t take a lot of time. Other things you can do? Incorporate more water into your day (try to avoid purchasing sugary juices or sodas), take daily supplements (there are great probiotics for kids that will even keep them healthier: https://bioptimizers.com/best-probiotic-for-kids-children-babies-what-is-it-how-to-pick-definition-explanation/), and practice good personal hygiene.
Show Them As Much Of The World As You Can
The more of the world that children see, the better they will be as they age. This doesn’t mean that you have to fly them to a new country every year and immerse them in the culture. Instead, show them YouTube videos of a different culture, encourage that they read books with different types of characters, or talk to them about what is going on in the world.
Too often, we try to hide the missteps in the world from our children, thinking it will frighten them. However, by hiding them, you aren’t preparing them to be successful. Instead, they won’t know about what is going on until college, for example, and they will be met with a world they do not know. At the very least, encourage that they take a language in school.
Model That Failure Is Okay
One of the most important things you can do for your children is to model that failure is okay. Why will this set them up for success? People who know that it is okay to fail are more likely to take risks that have big payoffs.
If your child loves baseball, for example, but cannot hit or throw, do not hesitate to sign them up for a little league team. Show up and be proud of them, even if they strike out or the team loses. If your teenager brings home a failing grade, do not punish them immediately. Instead, talk to them about what happened and try to find better study habits.
By getting mad every time your child does something wrong, you are teaching them it isn’t okay to fail when most of us fail on a daily basis.
Warn Against The Dangers Of Social Media
We’ve seen it time and time again – someone is successful, only to come crashing down because images of them in college or high school emerge on social media. College students continually get in trouble for posting racist videos or pictures on TikTok or Instagram. Teach your children to be judicious about what they post online. You may also want to talk about what can be found on the internet. YouTube continually fights a problem with White Nationalism. Twitter can reveal personal information and lead to abduction. SnapChat can lead to child pornography charges.
We’ve all been teenagers and we know that they make silly mistakes that can follow us for a long time. With social media, those mistakes may never go away.
It is important to realize that keeping your children off social media altogether isn’t helpful. They will find a way to get on it. If you know about it, you can monitor the accounts, who they follow, and what they post.
Teach Them Healthy Habits
If your children see healthy behaviors, they are likely to model them into the future. Try to be active with your children as much as possible. Even taking a 20-minute walk after dinner instead of watching the nightly news can be impactful. If you can, take them to the gym or play a sport with them.
It isn’t just exercise, it is overall health. If you eat a healthy diet filled with vegetables and fruits, they are likely to follow suit. People eat what they were exposed to as children, including the best probiotics for kids.
All we want as parents is to have children that are happy and healthy – and those are two things that usually lead to success. However, we are facing so many more roadblocks than our parents were. Even if there are things you don’t understand (just what is a VSCO girl and is it bad that your daughter claims to be one?), we also have more opportunities to give our children everything they could ever want.
Check out BiOptimizer.com for more information.
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