Harness the power of belief for your child's success.

With evidence of the power of belief through research by medical experts into the placebo effect, through witnessing people perform incredible acts such as the piercing of sharp metal shafts into the body and yet suffer no injury and through knowing that gymnasts could gather sufficient confidence to perform unnatural movements, we should next think of how such powers can be harnessed to help our children achieve success in life.

The question here is, how? Well, first, the parents, you, must show your pride in your children’ s abilities. Tell them how good they are whenever the opportunity arises. Tell others how good your children can be, not behind their back but in their presence. Speak out loudly and clearly so that they can hear your praise and joy. Give the understanding that you believe they are capable.

Encourage your child to do whatever he/she is capable of. When the need arises, give your child a helping hand. Teach him. However, do not hurt his/her ego when doing so.

I have heard parents make the following comment, “Come on! Such a small thing and you cannot do it. Come. It’s like this. “ And if the child still could not do it, resumed with “What man? Look carefully at how papa does it. Like this, okay.”

Those words should never be used. Now let us look at it critically. What is the parent saying? “Come on! Such a small thing!’ tells the child he/she is useless. And the “What man?” indicate a loss of respect for the child’s ability. The parent is letting the child down. The parent can get a child to lose whatever belief he/she has in his/her ability. Without belief in one’s ability, where is the necessary confidence to tackle life and its problems?
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Help your child to do whatever he/she finds difficult and then either end it with praise or a consolation such as “It’s tough, isn’t it. Many people need a lot of practice to do this.” In this manner, a child is encouraged and his belief in himself or herself is not diminished. Such a child will walk the many rugged paths of life with confidence.

Prepare your child well for the life ahead. Understand his communication needs and his social development needs.

Language and knowledge are two factors that can lubricate the flow of communication. Teach him language skill early in life. Tell him as much as you can about his/her world. This means spending as much time as possible with the child. The confidence of facing a world where almost everyone can understand him or her is important to the development and the strong belief in the child that he/she is capable of staying in control of whatever situation he or she has to face.

Teach your child how to handle himself/herself wherever he/she is. If your child can handle himself or herself well, there will be less stress as popularity comes to those who mix well. Teach your child restrain, cooperation and the habit of showing joy at meeting others. The ability to mix well strengthens a child’s confidence and the belief that life can be conducted easily through his ability and knowledge.

And then there is love. Everyone needs love. It would take a very strong person to go through life without love. A lack of love caused by divorce or loss of parents can lead to a loss of confidence and the belief in the self. I have seen this lead to pressure and mental problems. Fortunately, recovery successes in such cases have been achieved through techniques taught by The Art of Living Foundation. I have personally helped one such case in 2008.

For further information on The Art of Living Foundation, please go to:

www.artofliving.org

Love gives a child the shelter to seek solace and comfort for all the pain, frustrations and fears he may come across. Love is the guiding light that leads him/her to safety. Love is the heart that never fails to comfort him/her when such a need arises. Love is everything a child needs when all else fails. Those show how necessary love is to all of us.

How can there be confidence when there is no belief? How can there be confidence when there is no love? How can there be love when there is no sufficient care? How can there be care when you do not think of the future of your family and your child?

All the above is possible. Believe it!