parenting tips
Commit. Whether its soccer, ballet, or acapella, have your child finish the
season or term once they’ve enrolled or started something. They may hate it, in
which case it may be torturous to watch. But it’s a good opportunity to teach
them grit. Subjecting them to something they hate repeatedly may not be great
for their confidence. But making them stick it out for the season will teach
them about commitment.
It also shows kids that mommy and daddy won’t bail them out at the first onset
of discomfort or boredom. And once the season is over, even if they never enroll
in the same sport or activity again, celebrate their completion as a way to praise
the effort and not the result.
Help discover and nurture their passion. One of the characteristics of
“gritty” people, the Duckworth Lab discovered, is they are “especially motivated
to seek happiness through focused engagement and a sense of meaning or
purpose.” In other words, one of the necessary requisites for cultivating longterm grit is passion.
It may be years or decades before your child discovers his own. And putting too
much pressure to find a passion can be counter-productive. But continuously
piquing your child’s curiosity and exposing them to what they like and excel in
is a great way to help your child discover his own passion.
17