“When I grow up I’ll become a singer or an astronaut so that one day I could perform on Mars in front of aliens! Mommy, do you believe in aliens?” You are most likely to hear it from your child.
Most adults have lost the beautiful ability to dream big and believe that wonders can happen. Usually, it happens because parents insist on wishing for something more real and setting grounded goals. Hence, the creativity and qualities of a true leader are either harder to develop or lost forever.
If you are looking for an ultimate guide on how to raise a future leader, then you are in the right place, my friend. I present you a list of tips that will help prompt your little one to a path of leadership, confidence, and independence.
Raising a Future Leader
Here you will find:
- Let Children Deal With Their Own Problems
- Let Kids Decide For Themselves
- Failure Is THE Teacher
- Teach Them to Listen
- Pay Attention to Communication Skills
- When You are Wrong – Admit It and Apologize
- Teamwork: Teach Kids to Work Together
- Encourage Kids to be Creative and Think Out Of The Box
- It is Okay to Delegate
- Encourage Children to Dream Big
- What Is Leadership Truly About
- Praise Should Meet the Effort
- Teach Kids to See Things Through
- Establish boundaries
- Personal Space
On this note, let us proceed to the tips. Get comfortable, make yourself some tee, and get ready to take notes!
- Let Children Deal With Their Own Problems
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I am an adult, I can do it faster,” and then dealing with minor inconveniences that a little one has created? Almost all parents do this because they want to save time, protect their kids, or merely avoid conflict of any kind.
How will a person, who is used to taking no part in solving their mess, turn out to be?
Responsible and brave? I highly doubt it. Therefore, let your kids solve their problems.
This way, they develop creative thinking, a feeling of responsibility, and respect towards other people. Intervene, only if there is a real need for it.
- Let Kids Decide For Themselves
Leadership is not only about the weight of responsibility on your shoulders as a constant reminder, but also decision-making.
You know well enough that we are the choices we make – it is what defines us. If you want to help a little one become a real sensible leader, let them make choices from a young age.
These can be simple choices regarding baby clothes or foods, etc. These may not be decisions of paramount importance, but your trust and interest in a child’s opinion will build a foundation step by step.
Note: Use some tricks.
Sometimes kids can have wild ideas and want unobtainable things. For instance, if you ask a kid what they would like to eat, a little one might ask for some junk food, etc. In this case, narrow child’s choice to 2-3 options.
Instead of asking, “What would you like to have for lunch?” ask, “Would you like to have broccoli or some fruits for lunch?” This way, you give kids an illusion of choice and still make them eat healthy food. However, don’t overuse this dark magic!
- Failure Is THE Teacher
Despite all of the good and positivity, we want to show to our kids, that the world has its idea of the way things are supposed to be. Therefore, kids need to grasp the idea that failure is a successes’ shadow. Hence, what you can do is to let children deal with their failures on their own.
Do I ignore my baby’s problems?
The answer is NO. Always be there for your little ones and let them deal with the situation (whatever it is) independently. At least give them a chance.
It will help them look for the way out and think of ways to fix things. Also, they will learn to accept failure and move forward. Besides, it would be great if you could show it on your example.
- Teach Them to Listen
Listening is an essential part of any conversation. It gives you time to think, contemplate, and be reasonable.
Hence, teach a child to listen to what other person has to say, because with listening and open-mindedness comes understanding of what and whom you are dealing with.
- Pay Attention to Communication Skills
Apart from being a good listener, a little one needs to know how to negotiate and express their opinion. What can teach better than practice and life-experience?
Talk to your baby. Ask a little one his or her opinion on various topics. Even if the answers are too childish and far from reality – talk.
This way, a child will learn to speak up and have less fear to express opinion in front of others. Hence, a kid will understand the value of opinion both their and someone else’s. As a result, they will also practice their listening skills.
- When You are Wrong – Admit It and Apologize
There are a few words that people find difficult to say aloud, “Sorry, I was wrong” and “I admit” are one of them.
They say that the world is unfair, and it is somewhat true. Therefore, teach your little one to admit it when he or she is wrong and apologize. This way, a kid will be more humble and see failure as another challenge on the way to their goal.
What is the best way to do so?
Easy, show it on your example. It is understandable when parents might lose their temper or make unfair judgments.
Everyone goes through this. However, instead of acting as if nothing’s happened – apologize.
By admitting to your mistakes, you will teach children to be responsible for theirs, for it takes courage to do so.
- Teamwork: Teach Kids to Work Together
Is there a leader without a team? I don’t think so.
Encourage a little to play with other children, play in a team, and do some sports or other activities. From a young age, they will learn to cooperate with other people and negotiate when necessary.
Besides, teamwork will give your kid a precious lesson – there is no “I” in a team. Hence, a kid will learn to prioritize group effort over personal. Besides, it is so much fun!
- Encourage Kids to be Creative and Think Out Of The Box
Leaders need to be resourceful, creative, and authentic. There is no better way to help kids than encourage them to create and build something from scratch. Unfortunately, schools don’t give them enough space to do this, so you will need to take matters into your hands.
What can I encourage my baby to do?
These can be different things: building a cute tent in their room to establish a drama club at school. Be creative, and you will see that there are many options.
- It is Okay to Delegate
Whenever comes the time to create a plan of actions or deciding who does what, we can stumble. Why? Because we need to adequately estimate our possibilities and those of other group members’.
Therefore, let kids delegate. This way, they will learn to pay attention, learn to work with what they have, and make decisions based on calculations, etc.
Yeah, but how do I do this?
Let’s say that you have asked kids to clean the living room, but instead of telling them what to do, let children decide it on their own. This way, they will share chores based on personal preferences and possibilities, etc. Each kid will have an opportunity to come up with arguments as to “why” he or she should do a particular task.
- Encourage Children to Dream Big
Children are big dreamers with their heads in the clouds, thinking that to get the star, they only need to reach for it.
Our task, as parents’ is to encourage their dreams, no matter how impossible or weird they are, because this way, kids will look for ways to achieve them. Besides, this way, you will boost up their confidence and determination.
But life isn’t always what we want it to be. Isn’t it a deception?
Children need support from their nearest and dearest because you are their comfort. You don’t need to tell them that not everything is possible. Reality and adulthood will do it for you.
Therefore, your main task is to encourage them to dream big, set goals, and do their best to achieve them. At the end of the day, they will gain invaluable experience in the process.
- What Is Leadership Truly About
Is leadership about holding power and authority or about serving and giving to people? It’s the people who choose the leader, not vice versa.
Therefore, a little one will be encouraged to work for good and make the world a better place, by serving other people. By being good towards others, one can bring about significant changes, and people will follow.
- Praise Should Meet the Effort
Take a minute and think, how often do you praise your baby and most importantly – for what?
It is vital to praise kids because they get your approval and feel more confident. In other words, this is a way to help them understand the price of effort and cherish someone else’s work.
If you praise your little one for every single thing they do (whether it is something big or minor), you might give them the wrong impression of the world. Besides, they might start doing things only for the sake of praise. You don’t want that to happen, do you?
- Teach Kids to See Things Through
Raise your hand if you have, at least once, thought to yourself, “If only I didn’t quit it, I would be…” Oh common, I know you have!
Children are eager to explore, but it is difficult for them to stay committed to something or finish what they do. Therefore, you should help your kid. Otherwise, a little one will drop everything they find at least a bit difficult in the future.
How do I make a kid stay committed to something that a little one is doing?
What you can do is to set some timeframes. As soon as children say that they want to quit doing something (playing football, playing the instrument, etc.) tell them, that they should finish the season or semester, or even year before they can do this.
This way, they will learn to finish what they have started. Besides, they might change their mind and decide to continue with the activity.
- Establish boundaries
In order to raise a leader, you should let your child make decisions, speak up, and have the freedom to create. However, a kid is still a kid, with a fiery temper and big dreams, who only get to know the world.
Therefore, set some boundaries and give your kid freedom but only to a certain extent. This way, you will teach them to be respectful of others’ requests, be humble, and feel responsible. As a result, you will satisfy their needs and keep them safe and grounded.
How do I know that I am not allowing too much? It is the case when you have to decide for yourself, coming from your outlook, beliefs, and attitude towards life. Regardless of social norms, and what society thinks is right, you are your own person, who lives life the way they want. Therefore, you should ask yourself what qualities and beliefs you want your child to stick to.
- Personal Space
Personal space is of great value, especially during the age of social media. Remember that each individual needs some time to think, rest from everyone, and information flow. There is so much more to it, but let’s go straight to the point.
Teach kids to respect personal space in your example. Be respectful towards them and other people. This way, kids will understand better what it means.
FINAL WORDS
Many things influence our personalities. These can be genetics and nationality, beliefs, religion, etc. Regardless of what it is, we can still help our kids obtain qualities that will help them become successful and happy people.
Remember that children are born as a clean canvas, and you are the one who first colors it. Parents are the best and the most reliable courses of information for kids.
Children mimic them and repeat almost everything they see and hear. For this reason, the best way to teach a kid some lessons is to be their role model. Be a strong and decent person to bring up one.
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