Raising Children Who Will Be Successful In Life

1. 81

   gmwilliamsposted 12 years ago

   Even though parents maintain that they want their children to be successful, many are not implementing the necessary steps to help their children become successful.   While they want their children to be intelligent and earn good grades, they often are critical of their children if they prefer reading and other intellectual activities to hanging out with school peers. 
   
   Many parents are not involved as they should be in their children's intellectual activities.  These parents actually prefer to watch television and indulge in other mundane activities than to spend time reading with and/or to their children, attending museums, and participating in other educational activities. 
   
   There are other parents who believe that educational activities are not fun and subconsciously convey that idea to their children.   They believe in the strict dichotomy that school is school and it is supposed to be arduous.  Well, I believe that in order for children to become successful adults, there must be a love of learning, especially reading.   Studies show that children who read proficiently, earn higher grades which transfer into high academic achievement and career achievement later on in life.  What is your thought on this?

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   1. 62

      Monisajdaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well, yes, it is not good enough to say that children should read books if a parent chooses to watch TV instead. Children actually understand the difference between words and actions and emulate our actions.
      
      Parenting is a hard job and it takes a discipline to dedicate your time to your children. I think I invested a lot of time and energy in their youngest years when they needed me all the time. I remember hours that I had spent on a couch reading to my older daughter while nursing her baby sister. As they are growing, their needs are different and they are more independent and less absorbing. Yet, I spend my entire days with them, I take them to classes, parks, we cook, I still read to them. Since my daughters are homeschooled I feel tired at times but mostly I am proud of an effort I put to make them smart, confident, hungry for knowledge. My five year old, who is just learning to read, loves books. She will either ask me to read to her or take a book (their room looks pretty much like a disorganized library with stacks of books everywhere)and engage herself in "reading" it. She will describe what she sees in the pictures and usually add her own twist to the story or make up her own. My older one who just turned 8 likes to write. She writes her stories, illustrates them and then we bind them. She has already "published" three books.
      
      Parents job is to create an environment that is engaging for their kids. If you love reading, challenging intellectual conversations, your kids will love it. If you expect them to think for themselves, challenge you, they will. I wrote about it in some of my hubs on homeschooling.

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      1. 81

         gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I totally concur with you.  Parents must be proactive and set a good example regarding their children's education. Many parents stress education but they do not walk that walk.   If a parent want his/her child to be interested in education, he/she must be interested in learning himself/herself via reading and participating in educational activities.  Many parents exhibit to their children that they are subconsciously uninterested in education and learning from the activities that they engage in.

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         1. 92

            jpcmcposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, that true, many parents live it up to the school to educate their children.  i believe that the school is just one tool.  Moreovr, i believe that parents should take on a more active role.

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            1. 81

               gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Kudos to you!

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               1. 92

                  jpcmcposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Kudos to my parents who were always there for me.  And to all others who do the same for their kids.

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   2. 92

      jpcmcposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I believe that success is more than just books and school.  Of course they matter but many success stories involve having the right attitude and character. 
      
      My duaghter is just 10 months and we provide numerous experiences from cognitive, physical to social and emotional stimulations.  We want a strong foundation.  more importantly, we want to present and actively participate in our child's development.

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2. 59

   cinea-chanposted 12 years ago

   I agree with you that parents need to realize the value of learning for themselves and then convey that importance to children.  However, preferences such as reading and learning aren't something you can force on a child.  It'd good to take trips to museums and expose children to intellectual adventures, but, in the end, the kid could still dislike such things.  Sometimes kids need time to grow into hobbies such as reading, no matter how much you seem to enjoy it or make it clear that it's important. 
   I feel like it might help if parents lead by example more often, because a love of learning will definitely go a long way, but there's only so much you can do if the child is simply uninterested. They might find other ways of being successful, though, still, even though it might not be in the conventional sense.
   I agree that character is also important, but it does seem like a desire to learn fuels character building obliquely, as well.  The pursuit of knowledge goes hand-in-hand with understanding oneself and the world around oneself.  People who learn to ask questions and cultivate their curiosity are probably not ignorant of themselves as much as others, and therefore will take the necessary time to develop their personalities accordingly as well.

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