Leadership is a skill we desire our children to learn. Part of learning to become leaders includes taking calculated risks. In fact, risk taking is a part of growing up. It plays a huge role. Childhood may be about cultivating safety and self-esteem. As a child matures, risk and achievement are necessary in constructing their identity and self-confidence. Negative risk taking should be discouraged, such as abusing substances, etc. Healthy teens are going to want to become indepedent and self-sufficient. To accomplish this, they will need to try things on their own. The adults around them must let them.
Listed below are tips to help a parent foster leadership in their children:
- Help them take calculated risks. Talk with them and let them execute. Your primary job is to prepare your child to function in the real world.
- Discuss how they must learn to make healthy choices. They must prepare to handle both success and loss. They also should learn to deal with the consequences of their decisions.
- Instead of tangible rewards, try spending quality time together.
- Choose a positive risk taking option and help your kids become involved (i.e. sports, jobs, etc). Some children may need more encouragement to try new opportunities.
- Don’t reward basics that life requires. If your relationship is based on material rewards, kids neglect to develop intrinsic motivation.
- Affirm smart risk-taking and hard work wisely. Help them see the advantage of both of these, and that stepping out a comfort zone usually pays off.
Encourage your child to take calculated risks to help establish their sense of self-direction and autonomy. This will allow them to learn to be their own leaders and to make decisions that will be beneficial for them. It allows them to establish a sense of resilience and inoculate them to the inevitable stress that life brings. As Thomas Jefferson stated: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
Source: Tim Elmore
A.C.T. will provide free resource information for individuals and families to help promote education. For more information, please contact Dr. Drecun at Dr.Drecun@a4ct.com or (858) 792-3541. You may also visit us online at www.a4ct.com. ACT serves the Del Mar 92014 and Rancho Santa Fe 92067 area.
