As your child gets older, they are likely to start comparing themselves to the achievements and possessions of the other kids in their classroom. While healthy competition is ok, it’s when your son or daughter starts to brag about how much better they are than another person, that trouble can starts.
 
It’s not nice to hear your youngster bragging to other kids, so it’s time to nip it in the bud.
 
Encourage empathy
If your son or daughter comes home saying, “I can read big books but the other kids are still on baby books” praise them for their hard work, but tell them that the other children may be better at another subject, like maths.
 
Don’t make it about winning and losing
Try not to make your child’s football match or swimming lessons be about winning or losing. Try to encourage healthy competition and to always congratulate and shake the opposing team’s hands.
 
Competition
A little bit of competition is healthy, but not if your child is constantly bragging that they can jump higher or run faster than their peers. Encourage friends to play games that have them working together. This way everyone has a role and it becomes less about who is better and more about working together to achieve a goal.
 
Don’t protect them from failures
Don’t protect or make excuses if your little one fails an exam or makesa mistake in a school play or game. Congratulate them for taking part, but let them know that everyone has limits. Don’t downplay a mistake because it can help your little one understand how other people feel when they do better than them.
 
Don’t go overboard on praise
If you are forever telling your child just how amazing they are, they will start to get unrealistic expectations that everything they do is fantastic – even if it’s not. This won’t help when you want them to feel more empathy towards others.
 
It is important you teach your child to appreciate other things that people do and to recognise that everyone has different abilities. While confidence will help them in later life, too much will create unnecessary obstacles, so teach them to be modest.

Latest

Trending