Page 47 - Waterfall Issue 9 2021

A concept called ‘emotional
contagion’ is a psychological
phenomenon where people catch
feelings from one another. Therefore,
as a parent, if you are tired and
frustrated, that emotional state
could transfer to your children.
• Don’t be a helicopter parent**.
This style of parenting inadvertently
disempowers your child. Let
them explore. Let them make
mistakes. Let them learn.
• Value effort over failure. Decades
of studies at Stanford university
found that children think about
success in one of two ways, either
with a fixed mind-set, which assumes
that intelligence, creativity and
character are all static and can’t
change in a meaningful way; or with
a growth mind-set, which thrives
on challenges and sees failure not
as evidence of intelligence but as a
way to grow and learn new skills. To
explain this practically, if children
• Set higher expectations of them. through various perspectives; and are told that they did well in a test
This talks to the Pygmalion effect, to find answers from experts. because they are clever, this creates
which states that what one person • Focus on healthy relationships at a fixed mind-set. If they are told
expects of another can come to serve home. Research shows that children they did well because of effort, it
as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Basically, brought up in high conflict homes nurtures a growth mind-set. This
this means that expectations parents tend to fare worse than children with could be a vital differentiating factor.
hold for their children have a huge parents that get along. Conflict is • Teach grit. Grit is basically resilience.
effect on them attaining goals. We destabilising and creates insecurity It can be defined as a ‘tendency to
are certainly not promoting undue and doubt in young minds. sustain interest in an effort aimed
pressure being placed on children, • Teach maths early. A study of at very long-term goals’. The idea
but it is about visualising a future 35 000 pre-schoolers showed is to teach children to commit to
state and then encouraging them to that developing maths skills such the future they want to create.
work towards that. The goal posts as numbers and number orders,
may move, but moving forward puzzles and basic concepts Parenting is dynamic and ever-
and not standing still is the point. early on can turn into a huge changing, so be adaptable. Try
• Complexity is the future so future advantage. This will benefit both to parent actively rather than
success may be determined by a their maths and reading skills. passively – it could set your
person’s complexipacity, a word • Build relationships early on child on the path to success.
coined by David Pierre Snyder. with your children. Yet another sources:
This trait describes an individual’s study showed that sensitive Ted Talk – “How to Raise an Adult”
ability to innovate and disrupt in caregiving in the first three years is https://www.inc.com/patricia-fletcher/7-ways-
complex, open and people-intensive fundamental to creating a secure to-raise-the-next-generation-of-innovators.html
environments, with feedback loops base for children to explore the ** A helicopter parent is a parent who
pays extremely close attention to a child’s
and unintended consequences. world and learn. Early investments experiences and problems, particularly at
Encourage your children to break will result in long-term returns. educational institutions. Helicopter parents are
challenges down into a set of • Stress less. Your stress levels can so named because, like helicopters, they ‘hover’,
overseeing every aspect of their child’s life
questions; to think about each one directly impact on your children. constantly. Wikipedia.

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