If you have ever spent time around small children, you probably noticed that they love to ask questions. These inquisitive little beings are constantly looking for answers and trying to understand the world around them. They want to know why the sky is blue, why dogs can’t climb trees, and why we can’t all just get along.
Whether your child attends preschool or daycare, they must learn valuable lessons while young. It can be challenging to devise effective ways to teach these little guys important life lessons. The best way to do that is by coming up with fun activities that will help them grow as people in the future. Here are some ideas that will give your littlest learners some food for thought:
1. Be a good role model
Children learn by example. If they see you being friendly to others, they will do the same. If they see you being kind to animals or helping out your fellow humans, they will do the same. If they see you being rude and greedy, they will do the same. That’s just how it works.
It’s crucial to model positive behaviour for children when you are around them. Always strive to be respectful and courteous to everyone, whether adults or children. Your child will be more inclined to try and practice being kind and patient with others if they observe you doing it.
2. Let them fail
As parents, we are constantly looking to keep our children safe. We don’t want them to get hurt or be around anything they will find “scary”. However, they will never have the opportunity to succeed if they never get the chance to fail.
If children are to ever excel at anything, they must have the opportunity to fail. They must have the chance to stumble and discover that they can get back up and be allowed to experience fear and then conquer that fear.
Children who are always protected from failure won’t have an opportunity to learn how to be better people. They won’t get the chance to discover how to handle disappointment or how to get back up after being knocked down by life. If you’re a parent, you should let your child fail. Let them experiment and fail at new things. Only then will they learn to succeed in the future and grow as a person.
3. Teach by example
You might want to consider asking yourself: What do I want my child to learn from me? This query might assist you in thinking of activities you can perform with your child to teach them valuable life lessons. Perhaps you want your kid to grow up respecting animals. You can accomplish this by bringing a pet home. Maybe you want your youngster to develop patience. You can achieve this by engaging in a game that tests their patience. Whatever lesson you want your child to learn, you can teach it to them by being an example.
4. Don’t be afraid of confrontation
Conflict is a part of life. We all have to learn to manage conflict, whether between individuals or within a single individual. Teaching children how to handle conflict while they’re young is crucial. If they lack the skills to handle conflicts, how can they ever succeed as adults?
Therefore, you should step in and support your child if they find themselves in a position where they need to practice confronting another person. Children must learn to confront others respectfully without being impolite or aggressive. When you support your child in confronting another person, you are assisting them in developing positive confrontational skills.
5. Practice empathy and tolerance together
Empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s feelings or situation. For example, if you step on someone’s foot, you will feel pain. That is empathy. Tolerance, on the other hand, is the ability to accept others despite their differences. Tolerance is accepting people for who they are and their beliefs, even if you disagree with them. For example, tolerance is accepting people who may look different from you or come from another country or religion.
When you practice tolerance with children, you are helping them learn the ability in the long term. You are helping them understand people are different and that individuals who are different from them are still human. This will assist children in becoming good, understanding adults in the future. In addition, practising empathy and tolerance is crucial if your child attends a bilingual preschool in Singapore.
6. Don’t discourage their artistic side
What did you enjoy doing when you were a child? Maybe you liked to draw, write, or create something with your hands. Or perhaps read books, write stories, or play make-believe. You probably liked to build or create things with your hands as well. This is referred to as an individual’s artistic side, a part of all humans.
You undoubtedly enjoyed doing these things when you were a child. Most likely, your parent(s) encouraged you to continue doing what you wanted. Parents should not discourage their children from engaging in creative endeavours and instead encourage them to keep doing what they like. In hindsight, parents should not put extra pressure on their children to be something they are not.
7. Help them develop healthy eating habits
Children require nutrients as they grow and develop to support the development of strong, healthy bodies. For example, a child’s bones won’t grow and develop if they consume insufficient calcium in their diet, or be anaemic if their diet is inadequate in iron. By encouraging your child to adopt good eating practices, you may help them learn valuable life lessons.
Good eating habits are not something that comes naturally to all people. You must instil in your child the value of consuming wholesome foods to stay healthy. By eating nutritious meals with your child and explaining the importance of doing so, you are helping them form healthy eating habits.
Summary
Children learn from a very young age. If you’re a teacher or a caregiver for small children, it’s essential to come up with fun and engaging ways to teach them important life lessons. Being a good role model, letting them fail, leading by example, practising empathy and tolerance, and helping them develop healthy eating habits are just a few ways you can do this.
Viv’s Schoolhouse, an award-winning speech and drama school for preschoolers in Singapore, encourages active learning through hands-on activities. Students will learn new things and gain valuable life skills like collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and curiosity.
With the help of our devoted teachers, you can send your child to our bilingual preschool in Singapore, where they will learn in a balanced and harmonious environment. Find out more about our exciting programmes by sending us a message.