Must invest in Child's qualities of strength

The parents of the 21st century will have to change their thinking completely with regard to potential.

The parent, who wants to prepare their child for the new world that awaits him, must understand (and see to it that his child also understands) that his potential is almost without limits. The limits, within which we 'allowed' our children to develop, were limits of thought. In other words, we set boundaries for our children (and allowed them to do the same) within which we believed they could function. We made them understand very well

• 'this you can do, this you can't'
• 'our family is not...'
• 'you are just like your mum/dad, therefore...'
• 'you are good at mathematics, therefore you must...'
• 'you experience too many problems in mathematics, therefore you can forget...'
• 'you are clever, therefore you must...'
• 'with marks such as these you can forget to...'

Home work and the child

• You don't have to be a teacher to help your child with homework.
• Set up homework and study area for your child. It must be:
• Schedule daily homework times, which should not be negotiable.
• DO NOT do the homework for your child.
• Motivate your child.
• Help with Study Skills. Help your child to:
• Show that learning matters: your example carries a strong message.
• Team up with teachers. Meet regularly.

How do we stop the lies?

Remember that most children will experiment with the truth at some point in their lives. Children learn to tell the truth over time, they are not born with that knowledge. If your child is persistently lying then it may be necessary to seek professional help.

Telling tall tales is not the same as lying. Children under the age of about 6 years are merely expressing their imagination and are not harming anyone. Talk to your child about the wonderful stories they can make up so they begin to distinguish between reality and imagination.

Create a family environment that allows children to express all of their feelings appropriately and remember to praise and boost their self-esteem as often as you can. Most importantly, never call the child a liar as children tend to live up to what the labels they are given.