Magazine December 2019

10 ways to
10 ways to empower children
empower children
7. Teach them gratitude
8. Show them they are
enough
What a child consistently hears, sees and feels creates a blueprint for how they view
themselves, the world and their place within in. We are all programmed in our early
years with beliefs and values that then silently influence us throughout life. If we want
children to grow up confident, have self -esteem and to become empowered adults,
we need to make sure that our actions and words are programming them with these
qualities when they are younger. Here are 10 ways to empower children and to give
them the best start in life:
1. Be present
In this fast-paced world, it can be
very easy to get distracted. We all
have a million things on our todo
lists at any given moment and
it can mean that we rarely stand
still. It’s important for children to
feel heard and valued, and a good
way to do this, is to make sure that
when we are with them, that we are
truly present. By taking away any
distractions and giving children our
full attention, we are showing them
that they are important and that we
want to hear what they have to say.
4. Allow them to fail
Failure is a part of success and
it’s important for children to learn
this. A person that sees failure as
a stepping-stone to their goal will
achieve far more than someone
who lets failure define them. It can
be hard to let children fail as we
want to protect them. However,
if we want them to succeed in
the future, we need to build their
resilience and learn that failure is
a part of life.
2. Teach them about body
autonomy
It’s important for children to know
that their body is theirs and for them
to learn how to set boundaries.
Quite often with friends and family
members, children are asked to give
hugs goodbye. If they don’t want to,
it is common for us to try to cajole
them into doing it, but is this the
right thing to do? If we want children
to know that their body is theirs, we
need to teach them this when they
are younger, and by simply allowing
them to not give a hug if they don’t
want to, we reinforce this message.
5. Choose your words
carefully
The words that we use are
powerful. If we want children to
feel empowered and confident,
we need to make sure that the
language we are using around
them is instilling these values.
3. Allow them to take risks
We all want to protect children and
it’s important to keep them safe.
However, there are times when we
can overprotect them. By allowing
children to take small risks like
climbing the ladder to the slide
without us reaching out our hand,
we show them that we trust them
and this, in turn, builds their selfbelief.
Of course, we will be there
to catch them if they fall, but by not
helping them in the process, you
are showing them that you believe
in them.
6. Respect them
Quite often we can hold children to
a higher standard than we can live
up to ourselves. If we were in the
middle of a task and engrossed,
how would we feel if someone
just came up to us, told us it was
dinnertime and took what we were
doing away without any warning?
We’d be so annoyed! I think it’s
important to ask ourselves how
we would feel if we were on the
receiving end of our actions and
to extend the same respect to
children that we would expect
ourselves.
We teach children to say thank
you, but we rarely teach them
about gratitude. Studies show that
practising gratitude on a daily basis
reduces stress and anxiety and
increases happiness. By teaching
children to be grateful about the
small things, we will support them
to be happier and empowered
because they will see the beauty in
life. Download your free gratitude
pack here.
9. Allow them to be their
authentic self
We are all unique and it’s important
for children to feel accepted for who
they are, not who we think they
should be. Children have their own
minds and each one has different
skills, abilities and ways of doing
things. We need to nurture children
to become their authentic self
and to know that it is okay to be
different.
We all have different strengths and
weaknesses and it’s important for
children to learn that they are good
enough as they are. We don’t have
to be perfect all of the time and
great at everything. Children will
be far happier in life if they realise
this and learn to accept and love
themselves even with their flaws.
10. Give them choice and
explain yourself
Nobody likes to be controlled and
the same applies to children. Of
course, we have to guide them and
there are times that we need to
take control, but it’s important for
children to learn that they have a
voice. We can give children choice
and still control the outcome. For
example:
• Put 2 outfits out and let them
choose what to wear
• Give them 2 lunch options
• If they need to do something
for safety, like holding your
hand, ask them if they’d prefer
to hold your hand or for you
to hold the bag on their back
instead
It’s also important to explain things
to children. Quite often, we tell
children to do something without
explaining why. It may seem
obvious to us, but children are not
always developmentally-equipped
with the ability to join the dots and
by explaining things, it will help
them to understand why you are
doing what you are doing.
Stacey Kelly
Stacey Kelly is a former
teacher, a parent to 2
beautiful babies and the
founder of Early Years Story
Box, which is a subscription
website providing children’s
storybooks and early years
resources. She is passionate
about building children’s
imagination, creativity and
self-belief and about creating
awareness of the impact
that the early years have
on a child’s future. Stacey
loves her role as a writer,
illustrator and public speaker
and believes in the power of
personal development. She is
also on a mission to empower
children to live a life full of
happiness and fulfilment,
which is why she launched
the #ThankYouOaky Gratitude
Movement.
Sign up to Stacey’s premium
membership here and use the
code PARENTA20 to get 20%
off or contact Stacey for an
online demo.
Website:
www.earlyyearsstorybox.com
Email:
stacey@earlyyearsstorybox.com
Facebook:
facebook.com/earlyyearsstorybox
Twitter:
twitter.com/eystorybox
Instagram:
instagram.com/earlyyearsstorybox
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/stacey-kellya84534b2/
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