Lions From Lambs

We have a duty to make sure children feel like celebrities. This is not a call to fill them with an unjustified sense of entitlement, but they must know that they are important in our lives. 

In the rapid-paced world in which we live, it’s easy to allow children in our lives to be lost in the background as little people whom we take care of, but this is a mistake. Although they are unable to fend for themselves, at the moment, children will very quickly grow into the adults who will lead the world. Their childhood experience will greatly determine the kind of leaders they become.

This is not a choice between treating them like “rockstars” and instilling them with a sense of accountability. We can still hold children accountable for their decisions, as long as they know we absolutely care for them and that our day is better, because they are in our lives. 

We want to build their inner confidence organically, and the only way to do that is through experiences. Inner confidence is controlled by our subconscious brain, which relies on the data it receives to make decisions and program our personality. A seemingly insignificant joke or slight of a child can result in a devastating issue of self-consciousness, under the wrong circumstances.

From birth to about the age of ten is your window of opportunity when raising a child. Once children become teenagers, the world has a far greater influence on them. Their peer group becomes the major influence, far exceeding a parent or even a teacher. 

It is essential to build a strong bond of trust before they hit the teenage years. If they have a strong foundation with you, they will be able to avoid – or at least reduce – falling victim to the traps that afflict so many kids. Even if they aren’t able to completely sidestep the landmines of adolescence, if you’ve done your job successfully, they will come to you when things get too heavy.

If you are able to nurture children with positive words and feelings – at the same time allowing them the freedom to make mistakes and know it won’t uproot their world – they will naturally grow a powerful sense of self-confidence. Raising a self-confident child is one of the major pre-determiners of resistance to peer pressure, bullying, and depression.

We cannot change the world into which we will send our kids, but we can make them strong enough to face it. We simply must raise strong and secure kids who< when necessary, will have the confidence to say that powerful word “no!” 

This world is a mess, and the children of today are the only hope we have of fixing it. Whether or not they are able to – rests on the job we do now!