Empowering Kids
Empowering means to put in or to cause power. The act of empowering children is a process of guiding them to feel and believe that they are powerful now and as well as creating optimum conditions that affirm their concept of power.
An example of empowering a child can be seen when Braden, age 8, was putting together his own track for his cars out of odds and ends he found around his room and the rest of the house. His dad told him that he was so creative and inventive. Braden’ s face lit up with confidence, feeling proud that his dad acknowledged his building capabilities.
Learning to empower children is just as important as instilling manners and independence. It requires much the same effort that we as parents put in to any goal with our children, including enthusiasm, dedication, and a willingness to focus on your childs’ mind rather than our own preconceived ideas and projections about their interests. We must remember that children dream big, without any of the hardships we learn over our life time that tell us that things are impossible. They want to believe that their dreams can come true, and they want to believe that you believe in them too.
Two great( and simple) techniques to empower your children
1. Mirror Mirror
Mirroring is the process of serving as a reflection. In this case specifically, a reflection of a child’ s ability, skill and qualities will help them begin to see themselves as they really are. You want to emphasize their value, talent and capability, as they are right now. From the example above, Braden’ s dad mirrored Braden’ s inventive talents.
2. Encourage
Encouragement is“ instilling courage” or putting courage in your child. Their belief in themselves if paramount to their success and future motivation. A great example of encouragement is when Lexi, age 7, strapped on her rollerblades for the first time. Glancing over at her mom with terror in her eyes, she was filled with belief as her mom said,“ You can do it Lexi! I know you can!” With that little push, she got up and made her first strides across the driveway.
Mirroring and Encouragement seem almost too simple to make an impact, but let me assure you that continuous support through these techniques will truly do wonders for your child’ s psyche. Help them advance and learn new skills by getting involved in their activities. Just remember, allowing them to test things out for themselves is a huge part of the learning process! Support their trial and errors for the attempt that they made. This is also a vital part of encouragement.