10 Ways To Raise Mentally Strong Children

We live in a dog eat dog world. Children today face far more competition than we did growing up. And while being sympathetic can help comfort them for a while, teaching your child to take failure and defeat in their stride will prove to be far more effective in the long run says Mr Narendra Goldani, founder, WOW Parenting

- Narendra Goldani

In today's world, being educated, having resources, possessing immense talent and demonstrating a great deal of skill, is not nearly enough for a wonderful future. While it is indubitably important to hone one's abilities, one important aspect to be successful and thrive in the future, is the ability to be mentally strong.

Here are a few ways I have observed some parents nurture I mental strength:

1 UNDERSTAND THAT UNFAIRNESS IS A WAY OF LIFE

Sometimes, even if a child has earned it, things may not go their way. It falls on the parents to instil a positive attitude and develop the mental make-up of the child, and encourage him to make the most of the opportunities he's received to succeed, excel and thrive. Creating a positive outlook to enable the child to view a failure or defeat as an opportunity to learn and try harder, will only make them feel grateful in the long run. The objective is simple: The child should never feel like a victim. He should not cry out over the unfairness of a situation. Here are just some examples of how parents can diffuse an funfair' situation:

• For example, explain to the child that getting out to a wrong umpiring decision does not make him a victim.

• Explain to him that securing less marks in one subject compared to another student who may not have studied as much as him, does not make him a victim.

Having less friends than the unpopular child in school, does not make him a victim.

• If the teacher favours someone else over them, it does not make him a victim.